Rhossili Bay to host Great British Dog Walk for deaf charity

Popular Welsh beach Rhossili Bay will be filled with dog lovers and their pets next weekend as they take part in a sponsored dog walk raising funds for the charity Hearing Dogs for Deaf People.

Welsh Deaf Rugby captain Adam Brake and fellow team member Johnathon Cudd will be leading the walk along the coastline of the National Trust area that was voted Britain’s Best Beach by Trip Advisor in 2014.

Mr Brake said, “When we heard about the Great British Dog Walk I thought it sounded like a brilliant event and something as a team we should get involved in.

“Both the Wales Deaf Rugby Union team and Hearing Dogs for Deaf People are raising awareness of deaf issues and the difficulties faced by deaf people and it’s natural we should team up with them to support an event like this.

“It is very important that more people in Wales learn about hearing dogs as the support they give, alerting their owners to sounds, is life changing. The charity is going to partner me with a hearing dog for the walk so I will be able to experience first-hand the sort of companionship these dogs can provide.

“I am also looking forward to a day on the beach – Rhossili is the ideal place for a walk so fingers crossed the sun will be out and I hope lots of dog walkers can join us!”

Owners and their dogs can either walk a 3km route or a longer 7.5km walk and will be able to see demonstrations from hearing dogs throughout the event.

Hearing dogs are trained to alert deaf people to important sounds such as door bells or fire alarms, giving deaf people the confidence to live independent lives.

There are currently 750 working partnerships across the country, with over 1,600 partnerships created since the charity launched in 1982.

Joining the walkers will be hearing dog Yogi and recipient 79 year old Brenda Lewis who lost her hearing overnight due to brain surgery on a tumour.

She said: “I was deafened very suddenly at the age of 61, and I just lost all my confidence. I didn’t want to go out of the house, I struggled to speak to people.

“When I received my hearing dog, it was like I had been given my life back. Eventually, I got my confidence back and now when I go to the supermarket with Yogi, people see his coat and they ask me what he does to help me. Everyone talks to me now and they all want to say hello to Yogi. Hearing Dogs have given me back my quality of life, and I love Yogi to bits.”

Tickets are £10 for adults and £5 for children, with all money raised going towards training more hearing dogs to care for deaf people.