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Signal / Hearing Dogs were trained forty years later (1973), when a deaf woman contacted the Twin Cities Action News TV programme to attempt to find somebody who would be able to train a hearing dog for her. With the help of Mrs. Ruth Deschene, then executive director of the Minnesota Humane Society, with the help of board member Dick Lambert, found dog trainer Agnes McGrath and she began to train a dog. With financial backing from the local Minnesota Lions, Agnes trained the first six hearing dogs in Minnesota. Training the dogs to alert deaf / hard of hearing individuals to various sounds such as a baby cry, a telephone ringing, a doorbell, knock at the door, the person's name, beepers, alarms including smoke alarms, sirens, etc. as well as various traffic sounds.
The Hearing Dog Inc. began as a program developed by the Minnesota Humane Society and funded by Minnesota Lions donations.
In 1976, the program was transferred to the American Humane Association and moved to Colorado. Then governor of Minnesota, Wendell Anderson, signed the Hearing Ear Program over in a ceremony on February 13, 1976. The governor said; This three year program - the first of its kind in the world has generated so much interest that the American Humane Association, located in Denver, Colorado, has agreed to establish and support a training center and to administer the program on a national basis. Now anyone in the United States, and perhaps the world, with a hearing disability will eventually be helped through this dramatic new concept in human services.
Under the wing of the American Humane Association, Agnes received a grant to conduct a four-year pilot study in Colorado. Martha Foss, Emlynn Wood and Sandi Sterker joined Agnes to help with this pilot study, which was completed in 1979. On May 7 1979, the program was fledged from the American Humane Association and Hearing Dog, Inc., was formed as an independent non-profit organization. After its first hearing dog placement in Canada, International was added to the organizations title. Henceforth International Hearing Dog Inc was born!
Today, more than 1,000 animal shelter dogs have been trained by International Hearing Dog to assist individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Because of the quality of its training program, International Hearing Dog was chosen to provide training for Japans first hearing dog program, has worked with individuals from Norway and Australia to help them learn the training method, and is currently training a group of individuals from Sri Lanka to assist them in building a program in their country.
Resource: IHDI
The Hearing Dog Inc. began as a program developed by the Minnesota Humane Society and funded by Minnesota Lions donations.
In 1976, the program was transferred to the American Humane Association and moved to Colorado. Then governor of Minnesota, Wendell Anderson, signed the Hearing Ear Program over in a ceremony on February 13, 1976. The governor said; This three year program - the first of its kind in the world has generated so much interest that the American Humane Association, located in Denver, Colorado, has agreed to establish and support a training center and to administer the program on a national basis. Now anyone in the United States, and perhaps the world, with a hearing disability will eventually be helped through this dramatic new concept in human services.
Under the wing of the American Humane Association, Agnes received a grant to conduct a four-year pilot study in Colorado. Martha Foss, Emlynn Wood and Sandi Sterker joined Agnes to help with this pilot study, which was completed in 1979. On May 7 1979, the program was fledged from the American Humane Association and Hearing Dog, Inc., was formed as an independent non-profit organization. After its first hearing dog placement in Canada, International was added to the organizations title. Henceforth International Hearing Dog Inc was born!
Today, more than 1,000 animal shelter dogs have been trained by International Hearing Dog to assist individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Because of the quality of its training program, International Hearing Dog was chosen to provide training for Japans first hearing dog program, has worked with individuals from Norway and Australia to help them learn the training method, and is currently training a group of individuals from Sri Lanka to assist them in building a program in their country.
Resource: IHDI
