What HAL does for the hearing handicapped

[Caribbean Chris]

Serendipity, I have had a hearing dog for almost two years, and learned so much from Roz & her Cruise Critic thread that I had the courage to take three happy cruises in the last year with my dog. She was trained by Dogs for the Deaf, a wonderful Oregon nonprofit, and delivered to me on the East Coast by a trainer who worked with us both.

 

I live in SW Florida, too and, just as with Roz, would also be happy to answer any questions. My email is stcroixchris at gmail dot com.

Edited December 29, 2015 by Caribbean Chris

[TiogaCruiser]

Thanks for bringing this up. Have been meaning to research FM units and other means of amplifying a conversation (such as in a restaurant). My dad has a sensory neural hearing loss and his hearing aids are only somewhat useful, and useless with background noise. Was hoping listentech had personal systems, but it doesn't look like it. Do you know of any systems that are individual, portable, accept maybe 2 very focused microphones (and affordable)?

 

Now off to your blog/thread on the other forum.

Edited December 29, 2015 by TiogaCruiser

[serendipity1499]

Betty, go to: Special Interest Cruising - Disabled Cruising- Then go to my blog - Cruising with a Service Dog-Everything You Ever Wanted To Know. This will answer a myriad of questions that you may have about a Service Dog.

 

Remember: The Hearing Dog is NOT A COMPANION DOG. Although, I do get my dogs from Canine Companions for Independence. There's a whole other connotation for a "Companion Dog"......it can simply be a "feel good" dog which has absolutely NO PUBLIC ACCESS.

 

A dog MUST perform a task for the handler in order to go onboard a cruise ship, in a restaurant, the mall or the grocery store. A dog [companion dog] that someone takes with them everywhere because they make them feel good does not have public access and does NOT belong in the market, the mall or onboard a cruise ship.

 

I'm happy to answer any of your questions right here if that's easier for you. Ask away!

 

Understand Roz what a service dog does & know that he/she must perform a task for his/her handler..I read your blog & the main question I had was the size of the dogs..I need to find an organization who will train a small dog to be my ears..Your organization only uses Labs, which I love, but because we live in a condo & don't have a fenced yard I would have to just walk the dog to give it exercise & actually play with it in our condo..

 

I'm only 5 feet tall, in my late 70's, use a cane because of a bad back & live in a condo...Brandy my doxi is a "registered Therapy Dog" not a service dog.. I take her to school every week & the young children read to her one on one.. When the kids read to her I get on the floor with both my Pup & the child, so I can hear what the child is reading & help the child with words that he/she might stumble over..

 

We have several Service dogs in training who work at school with us..They are all very large labs...I would not be able to handle that size dog.. A Lab needs to be able to run & exercise outdoors.. Several of them are very large.. One of them was fully trained, but when he was given to the blind person, who was very tiny, he overpowered her & he had to be put up for adoption.. The Puppy trainer adopted him.. Brandi & I love him too..

 

My main problem is that my hearing aids only help if I have them turned up to the maximum strength.. When I have Closed captioning on our TV, it helps a little, but I still miss quite a lot because CC on TV is not always available or perfect.. When a doorbell rings on TV, I keep thinking it's ours & answer the door to find no one there...:confused: LOL Brandy usually wakes me up in the morning just before the alarm rings.. If she hears the alarm, she will come up & kiss me to wake me..

 

I definitely could use the help of a service dog at home, for the door, to tell me when the oven is at the right temperature, but don't actually need the help on a ship...When I'm on a ship, I spend my time reading & not answering the phone or door.. DH is able to be my ears on a ship..I usually can't hear the announcements unless there is absolute quiet..

 

Don't envision myself taking a service dog on a cruise, & would leave him/her with my trusted Friend, who takes care of "BrandY" our sweet doxi....

 

Know there are organizations who train smaller dogs to be service dogs, which would be ideal for me..

 

Thanks for listening..Betty

Edited December 29, 2015 by serendipity1499

[serendipity1499]

Serendipity, I have had a hearing dog for almost two years, and learned so much from Roz & her Cruise Critic thread that I had the courage to take three happy cruises in the last year with my dog. She was trained by Dogs for the Deaf, a wonderful Oregon nonprofit, and delivered to me on the East Coast by a trainer who worked with us both.

 

I live in SW Florida, too and, just as with Roz, would also be happy to answer any questions. My email is stcroixchris at gmail dot com.

 

 

Chris I've been looking at your organizations WEB site.. It is a wonderful organization, but the only problem is in the FAQ section, it says you can't specify the size of the dog you may need.. I'm trying to find an organization who would be able to guarantee that I receive a small dog. under 15 to 20 lbs.. I can't handle a large dog..

[wizard-of-roz]

Understand Roz what a service dog does & know that he/she must perform a task for his/her handler..I read your blog & the main question I had was the size of the dogs..I need to find an organization who will train a small dog to be my ears..Your organization only uses Labs, which I love, but because we live in a condo & don't have a fenced yard I would have to just walk the dog to give it exercise & actually play with it in our condo..

 

I'm only 5 feet tall, in my late 70's, use a cane because of a bad back & live in a condo...Brandy my doxi is a "registered Therapy Dog" not a service dog.. I take her to school every week & the young children read to her one on one.. When the kids read to her I get on the floor with both my Pup & the child, so I can hear what the child is reading & help the child with words that he/she might stumble over..

 

We have several Service dogs in training who work at school with us..They are all very large labs...I would not be able to handle that size dog.. A Lab needs to be able to run & exercise outdoors.. Several of them are very large.. One of them was fully trained, but when he was given to the blind person, who was very tiny, he overpowered her & he had to be put up for adoption.. The Puppy trainer adopted him.. Brandi & I love him too..

 

My main problem is that my hearing aids only help if I have them turned up to the maximum strength.. When I have Closed captioning on our TV, it helps a little, but I still miss quite a lot because CC on TV is not always available or perfect.. When a doorbell rings on TV, I keep thinking it's ours & answer the door to find no one there...:confused: LOL Brandy usually wakes me up in the morning just before the alarm rings.. If she hears the alarm, she will come up & kiss me to wake me..

 

I definitely could use the help of a service dog at home, for the door, to tell me when the oven is at the right temperature, but don't actually need the help on a ship...When I'm on a ship, I spend my time reading & not answering the phone or door.. DH is able to be my ears on a ship..I usually can't hear the announcements unless there is absolute quiet..

 

Don't envision myself taking a service dog on a cruise, & would leave him/her with my trusted Friend, who takes care of "BrandY" our sweet doxi....

 

Know there are organizations who train smaller dogs to be service dogs, which would be ideal for me..

 

Thanks for listening..Betty

 

Betty, I totally understand what you're saying. When I first found CCI they were training Corgi's to help with hearing issues. The men who came to CCI for a dog wanted a more "manly" dog and thought the Corgi's were too small. So, they stopped using them. I got to see one of them at work in 2000 and it was such a joy to watch this little dog alert his handler by jumping on his lap and licking his face. By the time I had gone through the waiting list [2 years], they were only training Labs, Golden Retrievers and the cross between the two.

 

There are two wonderful organizations that might be able to help you. One is "Dogs for The Deaf" in Oregon, who train rescue's. And, "Canine Assistants" in Georgia, who train small dogs as well. Go online and get all their information and start the process going.

 

My DH used to be my ears for everything. He hardly had a life of his own.

 

I live in a condo, on the fourth floor, with my Black Lab, he's my second Service Dog who's lived here with me and they both learned to go potty in a potty box on my patio. We do a lot of walking and he goes to work with me everyday.

 

I can't imagine my life without a Service Dog in it. It's the difference between a complete life and a partially lived one!

[wizard-of-roz]

Chris I've been looking at your organizations WEB site.. It is a wonderful organization, but the only problem is in the FAQ section, it says you can't specify the size of the dog you may need.. I'm trying to find an organization who would be able to guarantee that I receive a small dog. under 15 to 20 lbs.. I can't handle a large dog..

 

"Paws With a Cause" another org. that will train small dogs. Look at their website.

[serendipity1499]

Betty, I totally understand what you're saying. When I first found CCI they were training Corgi's to help with hearing issues. The men who came to CCI for a dog wanted a more "manly" dog and thought the Corgi's were too small. So, they stopped using them. I got to see one of them at work in 2000 and it was such a joy to watch this little dog alert his handler by jumping on his lap and licking his face. By the time I had gone through the waiting list [2 years], they were only training Labs, Golden Retrievers and the cross between the two.

 

There are two wonderful organizations that might be able to help you. One is "Dogs for The Deaf" in Oregon, who train rescue's. And, "Canine Assistants" in Georgia, who train small dogs as well. Go online and get all their information and start the process going.

 

My DH used to be my ears for everything. He hardly had a life of his own.

 

I live in a condo, on the fourth floor, with my Black Lab, he's my second Service Dog who's lived here with me and they both learned to go potty in a potty box on my patio. We do a lot of walking and he goes to work with me everyday.

 

I can't imagine my life without a Service Dog in it. It's the difference between a complete life and a partially lived one!

 

"Paws With a Cause" another org. that will train small dogs. Look at their website.

 

Thanks Roz, will look into all those organizations..Betty

[Caribbean Chris]

Chris I've been looking at your organizations WEB site.. It is a wonderful organization, but the only problem is in the FAQ section, it says you can't specify the size of the dog you may need.. I'm trying to find an organization who would be able to guarantee that I receive a small dog. under 15 to 20 lbs.. I can't handle a large dog..

 

I do recall, though, that they asked in the application papers about the size, weight, etc dog you could handle. Most are quite small pups, since hearing dogs don't need to be big. You can choose to apply for a dog certified for public access, or a dog just for work within your home.

 

(My Lab was one of four career-change dogs that Dogs for the Deaf received from Guide Dogs for the Blind in 2013, which happens now and then. But not really the norm.)

 

Most of the time, at least when I applied, a fenced yard is required. You could talk to them in Oregon about that. It's a wonderful group of folks.