I’ve been working as a soundwork trainer for Hearing Dogs for several years now. I train puppies to become fully-qualified hearing dogs. I am there when a recipient meets a dog for the first time and I get to wave recipients off as they leave our training centre with their life-changing new dog.  I want many more applicants to enjoy these special moments and that’s why I’m making this appeal for funds this spring.

Training takes time. Dogs are not machines. It would be nice to click your fingers and create a fully trained dog in an instant but, in reality, it takes at least 2 years from when they are born to complete training – including around 4-5 months of soundwork training. There can be hold-ups in the process too. A dog can be ready to leave their socialising trainer to work with a soundwork trainer like me but we are all too busy working with other dogs to take them.

That’s why I’m making this appeal. We need more soundwork trainers like me to help train more dogs and help more of the profoundly deaf people on our waiting list. We are trying to raise £27,000 through this appeal – enough to cover the recruitment, training and salary expenses of a new sound work trainer. That means up to 12 more dogs can be trained each year – that’s 12 new partnerships and 12 more families whose lives can be transformed every year.

Can you help us transform even more lives by donating to this appeal?  £5, £10 or £20 really makes a difference – please help.  Thank you.

Sally Taylor, Soundwork Trainer

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