THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 7, 1994 TAG: 9408050240
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Random Rambles
SOURCE: Tony Stein
LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines
Susan Wight's ``ears'' wag their tail. Morgan Flowers' ears-to-be have four legs and a cold nose.
Say what?
Actually, it's not at all confusing. Susan Wight is a severely deaf retired doctor from Florida who has a hearing dog. Morgan Flowers is a severely deaf Chesapeake child whose daily companion is a puppy that will eventually be trained to be a hearing dog.
Hearing dogs make the silent world of the deaf better and safer to live in. At home, they alert their companions to doorbells and telephones or serve as living, breathing alarm clocks. On the street, they guard against the dangers of unheard traffic. Both Susan and Morgan wear regular hearing aids but they need the extra edge a dog can provide.
Susan is a 72-year-old retired pediatrician from Florida. She lives aboard a boat recently docked at the Atlantic Yacht Basin in Great Bridge. I met her when she came down the aisle of a Greenbrier store with a wiry little terrier on a leash. The terrier wore an orange-and-blue cape identifying it as a hearing dog.
Susan told me she began to lose her hearing in the 1970s, and it got progressively worse. Hearing aids helped, but she still was missing some important sounds. How important became very clear a couple of years back when she was almost hit by a car she didn't hear. A friend grabbed her out of the way just in time.
She knew about hearing dogs, and decided it was time for a serious investigation of the possibility. The investigation led her to Pete and to Florida Dog Guides for the Deaf. Pete is her Jack Russell terrier, about 12 intelligent, loyal and affectionate pounds. Never mind that Pete is usually a male name. Susan had read a novel in which the main character was a feisty, independent woman named Pete. It fit her new young lady very well.
The guide dog organization carefully checked out both Susan and Pete to make sure they could work together as a team. Both passed. After that, came training sessions. Pete responds to hand signals in the American Sign Language as well as to spoken commands. That's because people who have lost their hearing at birth or at a very young age may not have speech skills. If, for instance, Susan taps her chest, it means ``Come.''
And now Susan has both a good buddy and a good guide. Pete jumps up on the bed in the morning to let her know it's time to rise and shine. And leads her to the door or the telephone when it rings. And to the tea kettle when it's hissing hospitably. Outdoors, there was a recent time when Pete yanked the leash to make sure Susan knew there was a truck coming up behind her in a parking lot.
I met Susan and Pete in a store. Service dogs are welcome guests in business places. Almost always, anyway. Questions and eyebrows are sometimes raised, but Susan has a card identifying her as a hearing-impaired person, and Pete as a service dog. That's on the front of the card. If it doesn't persuade, the back of the card warns that turning away people with service dogs is breaking the law.
One problem about Pete was more funny than annoying. Someone in a store threatened to report Susan for cruelty to animals because it was a scorching hot day and Pete was wearing a cape. Susan had to explain that the cape is Pete's uniform, the sign that she's on the job - all ears, so to speak.
Morgan Flowers lost his hearing at the age of 7 months. His mother, Darlene Flowers, says a hearing dog will give him more of a sense of independence. In fact, his dog came from a Richmond agency called Virginia Canines for Independence. It's an English springer spaniel named Mac for ``MacGyver,'' one of Morgan's favorite TV characters.
Mac has been at the Flowers home for most of the eight months of his life. About 18 months is considered a good time for training, so that's when the real work of making him a hearing dog will begin. Meantime, Mac and Morgan are building a happy relationship.
And though the emotional kinship of dogs and kids is great, Susan says it's important for parents not to let their children rush at a hearing dog if they meet a person with one. Ask first if it's all right to pet the dog, Susan says.
If you want to know more about Virginia Canines for Independence, the address is P.O. Box 11494, Richmond 23230. It's a non-profit group and Darlene Flowers says donations are welcome.
There will be no charge for Mac or Mac's training. That's a pretty good deal for a hearing aid that keeps you safe, plays with you and gives you a friendly schlurp on command.
KEYWORDS: GUIDE DOG DEAF HEARING IMPAIRED by CNB