My Life with Mischa

I am in my 90th year and the fortunate recipient of a very clever Hearing Dog.

I have a profound hearing loss and have been wearing a hearing aid for more than 55 years and I have been a member of the Hearing Assn for many, many years. I have been fitted with the strongest hearing aid available which is a wonderful help but it does not pick up all the sounds for me. Without the hearing aid I hear no sound at all.

Mischa, my little treasure, is an adorable five year old Shih Tzu. She alerts me to sounds I do not hear and takes me to the source of the sound - door bell, door knock, timer, telephone, alarm clock and most important of all the smoke alarm. The only time she is allowed on the bed is when I am there and need to be alerted to the sounds she has been trained for.

It is quite exciting for me to be able to set an alarm as this is something that has been no use to me for many years. When the alarm clock rings Mischa jumps onto the bed and sits on me till I wake and ask her 'where is it' and then she jumps down and stares at the clock to let me know. I have a good keen dog as one morning Mischa woke me one hour before the alarm was due to go off! I should never be late for an appointment at that rate. When Mischa works for me she gets a treat and occasionally I find my bedspread ruffled when she has been on it when she shouldn't as she has been looking for a treat from the jar kept by my bed. This is just to prove she is still a dog and with a twinkle in her eye to boot!

When we go out in the car she has her own special seat belt and of course she wears her yellow coat when we go shopping or to the library. There is no such thing as a quick trip to the shops now as folk stop and chat and admire.

We go for a walk every day and this is great exercise for us both and we get to meet very interesting people of which many are overseas travellers as I live in Wanaka.

Mischa works really well for me, is very friendly and obedient and as well is a wonderful companion. Having to live on my own now it is a great comfort to me and my family to know I will be alerted in an emergency and because of this gives us all peace of mind.

So a big thank you to the wonderful people at the Hearing Dogs Training School and for those responsible for making a dog available to me and their great choice of dog - I could not wish for better.

A doting mum? Very much so and proud of our achievements together.

Ella Hebbard