I was approached last year by the charity Hearing Dogs for Deaf People to produce some dog card designs for them to help celebrate their 40th anniversary.
At Wrendale we are fortunate to be able to support a wide range of different charities, both local and national, but we receive a huge number of requests and it can be very difficult to decide how to allocate the time and resources we have available. I have to admit that this wasn’t a charity I knew a huge amount about, so my first step was to do some research and it was truly inspirational to learn about how these wonderful dogs transform the lives of deaf people.
What does a hearing dog do?
Hearing Dogs for Deaf People train clever dogs to alert deaf people to important and life-saving sounds that they might otherwise miss such as a smoke alarm or even a baby’s cry. Not only that but the love, companionship and emotional support provided by a hearing dog allows people to reconnect as deafness can be a very isolating disability. It costs £40,000 to train and support a hearing dog through its lifetime so funding support is crucial to be able to create these life-changing partnerships.
which trAits make a good hearing dog?
The dogs need to have a variety of special traits that make them suitable to be great hearing dogs. These traits include a gentle temperament, a strong ability to learn and general good health. As such, some breeds lend themselves to the role more than others and Hearing Dogs for Deaf People train just four breeds of dog – Labradors, cocker spaniels, poodles and cockerpoos.
I was asked to paint one of each breed to feature on a card which will raise money for the charity and was absolutely delighted to help this valuable cause.
Dogs are one of my favourite subjects to paint – I love their individual characters and find it a challenge as well as a lot of fun to try and capture this on the paper and this was extra special for me as I used our family poodle, Claude as a model for one of the designs.
10p from the sale of each card will be donated to Hearing Dogs for Deaf People. If you would like to show your support, our Wrendale charity dog cards can be purchased online here.
To learn more about the Hearing Dogs for Deaf People charity, head to their website here. Alternatively, you can help them by becoming a supporter or dedicated volunteer.