AFTER the usual business, president Marion Hawkes introduced the speaker Merleen Watson and her dog Grace.

Grace is a hearing dog (known as assistance dogs), which wear burgundy jackets. They help to provide confidence, independence and companionship. Merleen herself is profoundly deaf. Hearing Dogs for Deaf People is a charity set up by Bruce Fogle, father of television presenter Ben Fogle. Training a hearing dog takes up to eighteen months, including a year spent living with a volunteer puppy socialiser. They are highly trained and alert the deaf person by touching them with their paw or nose, then taking them to the source of the sound, and will lie down if there is a hazard or danger, such as a smoke alarm sounding.

Grace demonstrated responses to a mobile phone, cooker alarm and a fire alarm. Every hearing dog is matched to a deaf person so the dogs’ skills best match the lifestyle and needs of their new owner. It costs £45,000 for one dogs working life of ten years. Almost one in six of the UK population is deaf or suffers from hearing loss, and the demand for dogs is growing. The charity receives no government funding, and relies on the support of individuals, companies and other charities to continue its life changing work.

Merleen, Grace and her husband Paul were thanked for giving us a thoroughly entertaining talk.