Football legend Stuart Pearce backs charity appeal for more volunteer puppy trainers in Northampton
Football legend Stuart Pearce has teamed up with national deaf charity Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, which trains life-changing hearing assistance dogs, to launch a new campaign encouraging people to volunteer as a hearing dog puppy trainer.
In a new tongue-in-cheek video for the charity, Pearce – known for his passion, grit and iconic penalty moments during his time at high-profile football clubs – urges people to join the ‘Best Club Ever’ by volunteering to train a hearing dog and transform the life of someone who is deaf or has hearing loss.
The charity is urgently looking for more volunteers in Northampton to help train their life-changing hearing dogs and its campaign, supported by Stuart, aims to highlight the benefits of becoming a puppy training volunteer.
As well as training dogs that will help deaf people to rebuild confidence, connection and companionship, volunteers for the charity also make new friends, learn new skills and feel a real sense of community with other people doing the same thing. No previous experience with dog training is necessary and all costs are covered by the charity.
Zakia Ryan-Jones, from Great Billing, became a volunteer puppy trainer for the charity after seeing the difference a hearing dog made to her friend Michelle, a Matron at Northampton General Hospital.
“I really didn’t appreciate before the difficulties her deafness caused her on a daily basis until she got her hearing dog, George, and I’ve seen first-hand the incredible difference he has made to her life. He helps her every day, and I truly believe he has enabled her to stay in the job she loves, caring for sick babies.
"When we lost our family dog, I decided to apply to become a volunteer puppy trainer. When I got the call asking if I could look after a puppy, I couldn’t believe how lucky I was."
"When Betty arrived, a beautiful, bundle-of-fluff almond Poodle, my whole family fell in love with her. We have loved being her foster family and are so grateful to have had this furry little angel in our lives.
“We’ve met wonderful volunteers through the charity, all giving their precious time to help strangers. It has shown me just how much love, kindness and community support people are willing to give."
Stuart Pearce said: “I’ve been part of some brilliant teams in my time, but this is a club that really changes lives. The volunteers at Hearing Dogs are incredible, and it’s been a joy to help shine a light on the work they do.”
David Robson, a spokesman for Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, said: “We are incredibly grateful to volunteers like Zakia for giving up their time to help train our puppies, and to Stuart for lending his support to our new campaign.
“Our volunteer puppy trainers take a puppy into their home from eight weeks old, and with the full support of a local dog training instructor, get them started on their training and socialisation journey so that the pup can one day be matched with the deaf person whose life they will change.
“Our dogs are trained to alert deaf people to important sounds such as smoke alarms, intruder alarms, alarm clocks, doorbells and even the sounds of a baby’s cry – all sounds that could otherwise be missed. They provide lots of love and companionship too, which is just as important as many people who are deaf or have hearing loss can feel isolated and cut off from their friends, families and communities because of their invisible disability.
“We, along with Stuart, would encourage anyone in and around Northampton who loves dogs, has enough time every day to dedicate to caring for a pup, and wants to make a real difference to someone else’s life, to visit our website and find out more about volunteering.”
More information on joining the ‘Best Club Ever’ and becoming a volunteer dog trainer can be found at www.hearingdogs.org.uk/volunteer-puppies.
Stuart recently collaborated with Hearing Dogs for a short video to promote volunteering for the charity. It can be viewed at http://youtu.be/M-N5Hf6fZew.