Hearing Dog Pin-up no. 7: Eddison

(c) Paul Wilkinson 2021

Eddison, Chalky the teacher’s dream pet

Eddison is a six-year-old black Labrador. He was born in May 2018 and has four sisters and three brothers. He successfully qualified as a Hearing Dog and went to live with his partner Chalky in February 2020.

About Eddison – from his volunteer dog trainer, Jan

Eddison came to us as a six-month-old puppy.

(c) Paul Wilkinson

He was a very relaxed puppy, just as happy resting in his bed as he was tearing round the garden doing zoomies. He had a beautiful temperament and was able to understand very early on that there was a difference between playing with adults and with children. He was always extremely gentle with children and you could see he wasn’t using all his strength when playing tug of war with them. We were delighted to hear that he had been matched with a teacher and would always be around children.

As we discovered, he was a typical Labrador and would do anything for a treat. This made training him very easy and he understood very quickly what was expected of him. When out training, people would not only comment on how well behaved he was but also how handsome he was. He is a very beautiful dog. We thoroughly enjoyed the 18 months he spent with us.

About Eddison – from his deaf partner, Chalky

Eddison is a dream dog! He has a big heart of gold, and is so gentle and chilled-out.

His favourite place is his bed – he snores loudly, even in the office! He has little quirks that include running sideways, and avoiding puddles so he can stay dry and clean.

(c) Paul Wilkinson 2021

His favourite pastime is playing hide and seek with my teenage daughter, and settling down with his lick bowl spread with peanut butter.

I was diagnosed profoundly deaf aged three. I was fitted with hearing aids, and went to a primary school with one-to-one teaching support, where I learned to lip-read.

When I was 11, I went to a specialist boarding school where I started to learn British Sign Language. I loved it! BSL is still my preferred way of communicating – and it’s how, today, I teach other deaf children.

I am a teacher because I want to help remove the barriers to education that deaf children can experience. I want them to have complete access to education, and build the confidence to engage with the world.

And Eddison is a very popular member of staff in my team and he often gets spoilt with treats from my colleagues.

Guard dog, warning dog, friend!

When my young daughter and I lived alone, I had many sleepless nights, worrying about the fire alarm going off or a burglar getting into the house. I also wanted my daughter to experience childhood, and not feel she had to look after me.

(c) Paul Wilkinson 2021

I also felt frustrated when I couldn’t communicate with people. Every time I asked someone to repeat themselves, and they said ʺOh, it doesn’t matterʺ, my confidence took a knock.

When Eddison came into my life, everything changed. Now, I know that Eddison will tell me about the smoke alarm. I also don’t worry about my daughter having to look after me.

My work involves visits to schools, nurseries and colleges. Eddison is with me wherever I go. During lessons he just chills out, happy in his world, but before and after, he gets a lot of fuss from the children!

He’s always there for me, always with me, letting me know he’s still there and that everything is OK.

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