Phil’s all ears

Phil is no ordinary pet and if you see him in the community, he will be wearing a bright orange jacket and assisting Icy Creek resident Sue Saunders.

Neerim District Lions Club has sponsored the hearing dog program for Sue and after a transition process with a few Lions members, Phil will be Sue’s ears to regular household sounds that most people take for granted.

The Schipperke dog will be a service dog for Sue when she is at home and out and about in public places.

The Australian Lions Hearing Dog program trains dogs to assist deaf or hearing impaired people at home and in the community.

The dogs are trained to alert their owners to sounds such as the telephone ringing, an alarm clock, doorbell or knock or a baby crying.

The dogs also are trained to “go get” someone in the household so that an owner can be notified of an emergency.

This is done by the dogs locating the source of the sound then physically touching the owner with a paw and then returning to the sound.

The only exception is the smoke alarm where the dog will touch and drop in a warning signal position so that no one is potentially going into a dangerous situation.

In public spaces, the dogs are trained to help their owners pick up on environmental sounds they would normally miss such as a person coming up behind them with a trolley.

The dogs also will work for smoke alarms in public places.

Phil is the 581st dog delivered since the program began in 1982.

The cost to train a hearing dog is about $35,000, however they are given free of charge to deaf and hearing-impaired people from Lions Clubs.

Neerim District Lions Club sponsored Phil’s delivery to Sue and a number of Lions members were involved in the recent handover and ongoing transition process.

With his bright orange jacket and lead, Phil can accompany Sue into shops, restaurants and on public transport. Like all hearing dog owners, Sue will carry an ID card with Phil’s photo and number on it to signify he is an accredited service dog.

Dogs selected for the program are sourced from pounds and rescue organisations and come in all different shapes and sizes.

They are generally selected between the ages of six months and two years and spend about six months in training.

The training occurs at the Australian Lions Hearing Dogs national headquarters and training centre in Hahndorf, South Australia.

The five-day handover process involved the trainers and Lions members.

A number of Neerim District Lions members will now continue the transition over a 12week period, visiting Sue three times a week to test Phil’s responses to sounds and his ability to alert Sue.

Once accredited at the end of the 12 weeks, Phil will remain with Sue where he will be her ears to the outside world.