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| Maggie and Jamie |
Last week the School
welcomed Maggie and Jamie, her hearing dog for the deaf. Jamie is a spaniel/poodle cross and he’s
been with Maggie for a year.
Jamie helps Maggie and gives
her the confidence to do things most of us take for granted. For example, in the morning Jamie jumps on the bed when he
hears the alarm clock, then Maggie makes signs with her arms to ask Jamie what he
wants to tell her, then Jamie goes to the alarm clock and stands there to tell
her the alarm has rung.
Maggie's first hearing dog,
Clay, was the first assisted dog to work in Canterbury Cathedral. Sadly he died a few years ago. A service was held in his honour and helped
raise awareness of the invaluable job done by hearing dogs.
Pupils were given the
opportunity to ask questions. Maggie was
asked "How much does it cost to train Jamie, and what will a hearing dog
cost over its lifetime?": she explained that it costs about £12,000 to
train a puppy. Over its lifetime it will
cost £50,000 to keep training and monitoring the dog’s progress.
The costs are immense and the
School Council has decided to make Hearing Dogs for the Deaf its charity this
term. Each house will be organising and
running fundraising stalls during break for a week. A competition to design a coat for Jamie will
also be held.
During their visit, Jamie
and Maggie visited every class at the School, and pupils had a chance to stroke
and pamper Jamie.
Nilgun Bekir
