ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, October 7, 1996 TAG: 9610080021
SECTION: NEWSFUN PAGE: NF-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN GRIESSMAYER STAFF WRITER
Most people know about Seeing Eye dogs that help blind people. But have you ever heard of a hearing ear dog?
Well, Ramona Clements knows all about hearing ear dogs. That's because she owns one.
Ramona is deaf, but she has a little black mixed terrier named Simba who helps her "hear" things.
If someone knocks on Ramona's door, Simba runs between the door and Ramona to tell her someone is there. If the telephone rings, Simba lets Ramona know. And if there's an emergency, such as the fire alarm going off, Simba rushes to Ramona and warns her.
"When he's with me I feel safe," Ramona said. "If there's an emergency, Simba will jump up on me. And if I'm asleep, he'll jump up on the bed to wake me up."
How does Simba know how to do all these things? Because he was trained for almost a year before he could be licensed as a true hearing ear dog.
It all started about five years ago when Ramona learned about the hearing ear dog program from a friend of hers who also is deaf. Ramona had to fill out an application and wait for a year before they came to her house to make sure she'd be a good dog owner.
Once she was chosen to have a hearing ear dog, an exact model of Ramona's house - right down to the correct location of the furniture, phones and front door - was built in Colorado, where Simba was trained. Simba worked for two months in the model house before he was ready to come live with Ramona.
"When he first got here, Simba was very scared," Ramona said. "There were a lot of strange noises outside my house that he wasn't used to."
But when Simba got inside Ramona's house, he recognized it from his training, and he calmed down. A trainer stayed with Ramona for five days to help Simba get used to the new surroundings.
During this time, Ramona had to bring Simba with her everywhere so that the two would become friends. The only time Simba wasn't on a leash next to Ramona was when she went to the bathroom.
All this training and hard work paid off, though. Simba learned many different ways to help his new master and also learned to love and protect her.
In addition to alerting Ramona when someone calls on the phone or knocks on the door, Simba had to learn to recognize different sounds that could mean danger. For example, if Simba hears someone in Ramona's yard late at night, he becomes excited and wakes her up. It could be a burglar!
Also, Ramona said, Simba had to learn to behave himself in public. He's got a special I.D. that allows Ramona to bring him into restaurants, stores, hotels and other places that normally don't allow pets.
Because Simba is Ramona's helper, it's her responsibility to make sure he doesn't do anything wrong when he's in those places. "If he goes to the bathroom," Ramona said, "I have to clean it up."
Ramona said it's important to remember that hearing ear dogs are not really pets, but workers. When Simba's with Ramona, he knows it's time to do his job and be alert to strange noises. But when Ramona's son - who can hear - is home, Simba knows he can relax and not listen for the door or the phone for a while. During his "time off," Simba likes to play outside or just rest.
Two weeks ago, during Deaf Awareness Week, Ramona and Simba gave a demonstration to the pupils at Virginia Heights Elementary School in Roanoke. Ramona told the kids all about how Simba helps her every day. While Ramona talked using sign language, Simba sat next to her with his ears perked, listening for any noises that he should warn Ramona about.
Simba even gave the pupils a demonstration of his skills. Ramona had a teacher knock on a door and when he did, Simba jumped up on Ramona to tell her and then ran toward the door. The kids, who had been learning about how deaf people communicate, applauded in sign language: They raised their arms and wiggled their hands and fingers in the air.
Like Ramona, Jackie Carl, a third-grader at Virginia Heights, is hearing-impaired. She loved Simba and was excited about all the things a dog can do to help deaf people.
"I think a dog like that could really help me," she said. "He could tell me if someone was at the door or if the phone was ringing."
Ramona agrees that hearing ear dogs are very helpful. She likes having her furry black helper around so that she doesn't have to rely on her son or on other people.
"When I got Simba," she said, "It sure did make things a lot easier."
LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: DON PETERSEN/Staff. Ramona Clements cuddles up with herby CNB"ears" - her little
terrier named Simba. color.