Why are hearing dogs better than signal devices?


Gladys Russell
Copyright 2002

  1. Our electricity is often out, as we live in the country. I can't count on the devices. Our electricity has been out for 48 hours at a time, way too long to not know what is going on around me.
  2. There is something very harsh about the interruptions of a vibrating or flashing alert. Dogs are quite warm and gentle in their notification of same.
  3. My doorbell is battery operated. If the battery runs out, a signaling device would be worthless--no sound, no alert. Poodles don't have batteries.
  4. I am outside with my animals and plants a great deal of the time. Do you know of any portable devices that would alert me to a phone call or doorbell? My Poodle does both, as she is by my side all the time.
  5. My Poodle sleeps quietly at my feet at night, and lets me know when something is up by sitting up and emitting quiet, warning barks. A much gentler way of being awakened than a jangling alarm or bright, intrusive, flashing alert strobe light.
  6. I already have Cuddles, my Poodle, who serves the same functions as a device. No additional outlay of money for alerts and devices is required.
  7. The devices rely upon technology within to function properly. If it is mal-functioning, I have no clue. In the unlikely situation that Cuddles has a problem, I take her to the vet to get treatment for her. Much more reliable.
  8. One does not "use" a dog. The dog is the ready and willing friend and companion who performs their hearing alert duties out of love.
  9. How often does the equipment in a hotel/motel work? In my experience almost never. However, my hearing dog has never let me down.
  10. I have never found an alerting device that cuddles up to my body on a cold winter night so we can share our body heat.
  11. It makes me feel good to wake up and have Cuddles walk up to my face and say "hello." Can't say I have ever had an electronic device do that!
  12. When I am depressed, low or crying over some painful event, Cuddles is on my lap, gazing warmly into my eyes. She stays with me 'till I feel better and calm down. Any devices do that?
  13. Simply 'cuz I am an animal lover, and have little use for electronic devices that don't do the job a tenth as well, but get a lot of glitzy publicity, nonetheless!
  14. When an alerting device "dies", one never goes back and reminisces about the happy days with it while reviewing the family photo album.
  15. You can't take an alerting device into the bathroom with you when you take a shower or bathe. My hearing dog goes in with me, and tells me if something is going on.
  16. My Cuddles is bathed weekly, and her fur smells like herbs and spices. An alerting device smells like: rubber, metal, naugahyde and bakelite -- yecch!
  17. An alerting device does not meet me at the door and jump up and down gleefully to let me know they missed me.
  18. An alert device won't help you make new friends in the park.
  19. Hearing dogs don't tend to short out and cause electrical fires.
  20. When a hearing dog dies and is lovingly buried, the environment is enhanced. When an alert device "dies", it just becomes landfill fodder.
  21. A hearing dog is never stolen out of a car by a thief who believes it is a laptop computer.
  22. Several statues have been erected to heroic dogs; none to alerting devices.
  23. No one has ever listed their alerting device when signing Christmas cards. Cuddles' name is there!
  24. Feeding, grooming and bathing a hearing dog is a relaxing labor of love. Ever hear of a labor of love associated with a bunch of steel, wires and microchips?
  25. If my hearing dog misbehaves, she can be re-trained simply and inexpensively. Alert systems have built in obsolescence. They are cheaper to replace than repair.
  26. No one carries a picture of their alerting device in their billfold. I have a picture of Cuddles in mine.
  27. You never have the challenge and the fun of naming a metal alerting device unless you are a little weird!
  28. If a hearing dog gets too hot or too cold, they move to another location, the alerting device just sits there and freezes and bursts, or their components melt.
  29. You are never alone when you have a hearing dog. Even with an alerting device, you are still alone.
  30. Hearing dogs provide a good excuse to take a walk outside for your health. Who knows what a device wants?



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