Newcastle East resident Margaret Watt says dog Kalli is her great mate and the "best thing" in her life. The pair's bond not only helps Margaret day-to-day, but could potentially save her life in an emergency.
Kalli, 18 months, has just graduated as a Lions Hearing Dog. Her training was sponsored by Hunter Business Lions Club.
"She had her final assessment yesterday and she passed with flying colours," Lions Australia CEO Rob Oerlemans said.
Kalli was trained to assist Ms Watt, who is hard-of-hearing, by listening for things like smoke alarms and door bells.
"She has a number of tactile cues that she does, so she'll either tap on her foot or jump up and tap on her knee," Mr Oerlemans said.
The hearing dogs are sponsored by Lions Australia, who has delivered more than 670 pooches to deaf and hard-of-hearing citizens around Australia since the 1980s. The pups have the same public access rights as Guide Dogs.
"This is important because when you go out into the public even though you have technology with you, it doesn't always work and they work in companionship with your technology," Australian Lions Hearing Dogs CEO David Horne said.
"Some people feel overwhelmed when they go out in public with their hearing aids or cochlear implants and the dogs give them that confidence."
Ms Watt uses a cochlear implant and can lip-read, but says Kalli helps her know what's going on around her.
"Her body language tells me a lot," she said. "So I don't have to be sitting and waiting and just anticipating someone to knock at the door or someone to come to the gate.
"My cochlear is hooked up to the phone and television but Kalli can answer five sounds and the most important one to me is the smoke alarm because when I don't have cochlears on I don't have any sound at all.
"To give you an idea - I couldn't hear the Supercars without cochlears in."
The pair were matched up last year after Ms Watt's previous hearing dog died.
"She was 15 and eight months and I had to part with her, so I waited four months for Kalli after that," she said.
"I've always had dogs in my life. So yes, it's just marvellous to have a companion again.
"I couldn't have asked for a better dog. Kalli is just the best thing in my life. We're great mates."
Kalli is a Border Terrier, a breed Lions Australia have increasingly been using in the program.
"We used to go to pounds and animal welfare centres and the trainers would look for dogs that are interested and would respond to cues," Mr Oerlemans said.
"With COVID, we found that became more and more difficult because a lot of people were taking on pets during that period. We have now got a relationship with a number of breeders in South Australia where our property is and so we're breeding dogs that are suitable for the purpose.
"We've been working a lot with Labradoodles because their coats don't shed, they're hypoallergenic and have a great temperament.
"Kalli is a Border Terrier and we've been using those more because they're really interested, excited, really helpful and happy to please."
Mr Horne said there was currently a two-and-a-half year wait time for a hearing dog, but the organisation was trying to increase the number of canines it trained.
"The training of each dog is estimated about $37,000 a year," Mr Oerlemans said. "When we pass on a hearing dog, we make a commitment for the life of that dog. So our trainers will come back and do follow up visits, refresher training to make sure that they're always there doing what they need to do.
"So it's a significant expenditure, but it's something that we've been really interested to do."
And they say it's incredibly worth it to see the results.
"There is nothing better than going in there and handing over that dog and seeing the tears roll down someone's eye when they know that it's going to make a difference," Mr Horne said.
"It's not something that's for everybody, but for those who do take that step, they get a lot out of it."
WHAT DO YOU THINK? Join the discussion in the comment section below.
Find out how to register or become a subscriber here.
