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Name: Cameo Lab/hound
Town: Llanelli
County: Carmarthenshire
Age: 0 Years 3 Months
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Posted by
julieadmin
on Saturday, June 25 @ 10:37:01 BST
'Erica is an angel at the end of a harness'
SmudgesMum writes: " A HUDDERSFIELD woman has become only the second person in Britain to be given a dual-purpose guide and hearing dog.
Molly Dyson, of Netherton, says her life has been transformed by two-year-old labrador/retriever cross Erica.
Molly, 63, added: "I've met my soulmate. She's made me so happy and such a difference to my life. Erica is like an angel at the end of a harness."
The mother-of-two and grandmother of three grandsons sufferers from Ushers Syndrome. This robs its victims of their sight and hearing by the time they reach adulthood.
Molly, who was a proficient musician, was registered blind at the age of 40 and shortly afterwards lost all her hearing.
She also suffers from arthritis and osteoporosis, which makes it difficult for her to bend.
Erica was specially chosen from a litter of pups to first be trained as a guide dog for the blind and then as a hearing dog for the deaf.
She has also been trained to fetch and carry for Molly, loading the washing machine, picking up the phone and retrieving items which Molly may have dropped on the floor.
She also responds to doorbells, phones, smoke alarms and kitchen timers.
Erica has been jointly trained by the Guide Dogs for the Blind and Hearing Dogs for Deaf People charities at a cost of more than £45,000.
Jackie Boyle, senior dog trainer for Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, was involved with training Erica.
Her sight and hearing training took more than six months.
"Erica and Molly are doing brilliantly together. They've bonded really well. It's lovely to see them," said Jackie.
Molly had two guide dogs, Elaine and Connie, but both were retired.
She spent about four months at home waiting for Erica to complete her training and is delighted now they have finally linked up.
"I went shopping and dropped a £10 note on the floor of the store," said Molly. "Erica immediately picked it up and gave it to me. A man said: `I wish I had a dog like that.'
"She's so soft and gentle and so polite. Guide dogs are all special - but Erica is something else."
* Guide Dogs for the Blind have been providing blind and partially-sighted people with the freedom and independence such dogs give them for nearly 75 years.
* The charity runs campaigns to raise public awareness of the importance of eye health. Visit www.healthy eyes.org.uk for more details.
* The charity campaigns for the rights of the blind and partially-sighted community, particularly on mobility and access issues.
* The Hearing Dogs for Deaf People group was launched at the world-famous Crufts Dog Show in 1982.
* The group has continued to train dogs - like Erica right - to alert deaf people to specific sounds, whether in the home, at work or in public buildings.
* To date, the group has placed more than 1,000 hearing dogs throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
From The Huddersfield Daily Examiner - 24 June 2005 "
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