Aylesbury MP Rob Butler highlighted the contribution of assistance dogs during this year’s Deaf Awareness Week (3rd to 9th May), as he visited the local charity, Hearing Dogs for Deaf People.
Rob said:
“I was delighted to visit Hearing Dogs for Deaf People in Saunderton during this important week, and discuss the incredible role that these assistance dogs play – quite literally protecting people’s lives. Hearing dogs not only raise the alarm when they hear life-saving sounds such as smoke detectors but they also help profoundly deaf people to regain confidence in everyday life.
“The theme for this year’s Deaf Awareness Week is ‘coming out together’, which is particularly relevant as Covid restrictions ease. The independence which an assistance dog provides means everybody can enjoy the return to normality together, with a hearing dog helping those with hearing loss travel on public transport and visit recently reopened shops and restaurants.”
Hearing Dogs for Deaf People trains and supports 1,600 animals, helping more than 5,000 people. Whilst visiting the charity, Rob had tea with the charity’s chief executive, Michele Jennings, in the Grange café and terrace restaurant, located on-site, which recently reopened as part of step two of the lockdown roadmap.
Rob added:
“The charity’s Grange café and restaurant is a superb social enterprise. It serves delicious food and drinks in the heart of our beautiful local countryside, and with every penny of profit being put back into the charity’s work, it’s helping to train and support even more hearing dogs.”
