I have been quite firmly on the fence a few months now about whether or not I should apply to get a Hearing Dog for the Deaf. I put in my preliminary application but have been hanging on to the GP letter and Audiology letter that I need to forward on as I just wasn’t sure that this was the right thing for me.
You see, I do reasonably well without a Hearing Dog and although I would love to have a dog, I just wasn’t sure whether this would give me any real benefit.
Well…..today I am off the fence. I want a Hearing Dog. Why? Because I was playing on my laptop whilst still thinking about whether to get up or not, and I had my buzzy alarm thing with me to alert me should the front doorbell go as I was expecting a parcel from Amazon.
Yes, you’ve guessed it, the postman came and went and my alarm didn’t go off so now I have to wait until Monday to go and get my books from the post office. I even dashed down the road to see if I could find the postman, but I don’t know which direction he went and I only saw the collection notice about ten minutes after it was posted through my letter box.
So, I shall now begin to push through the application process rather more whole heartedly and see whether the charity will consider me suitable for such a dog. Of course, if they decide that I am not suitable then that is a different matter, but I have now decided that a Hearing Dog could really help me as I wont have to keep one eye on the front door if I am expecting a visitor or miss any more vitally important book parcels.
6 comments:
I didn't know you are hard of hearing! Don't I feel like an idiot this morning.
Hooray for a hearing dog! I hope you get one, I'd love to hear all about it. :)
How wonderful! I do understand your hesitation though. I wish you luck! And am sorry you have to go to the post office now to retrieve your package. I know all too well what that's like. :-S
How complicated is the process, Sam? Is there a long wait? An old friend of mine's mother used to train seeing eye dogs now and then. I always thought that would be something interesting to do.
I'm sure you won't be taking one away from someone much more needy than you.
You know, someone whose reasons for getting one are more than waiting for packages from Amazon :-P
Although, in all seriousness, wouldn't a normal dog go mad at the doorbell too?
And to anyone who thinks I'm being unkind, rude or thoughtless, I'm not, I'm just her brother :-D
First of all, that really sucks that you missed your package! That annoys me when that happens.
Good luck on the process of getting a dog! Hopefully things will work out quickly and smoothly!
I hope you can get a dog!
That used to happen to me all the time. It was so annoying. Now I can completely relax at home, all the time, knowing that Smudge will tell me if someone is around or something's not right. Without my hearing aids I am very vulnerable but Smudge is there to look out for me, so I sleep soundly at night. I'm happy to walk around the house without my hearing aids if I don't feel like wearing them - it's great, first thing in the morning!
You can't buy the peace of mind, the constant companionship, the constant love-you-no-matter-what-you-look-like-in-the-mornings, it's all so worth the wait and doggy only wants a few walkies, food, and affection in return.
The best thing about a hearing dog is that people will mob you! For a deaf person, it's fab to have a dog break the ice for you and get hearing people to come over and talk to you. They realise you can't hear and so make more effort.
I had to wait about 2 1/2 years for Smudge but he was well worth the wait and we're a perfect match. And I was always scared of dogs!! Go for it. You won't regret it.
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