Miss-Delectable
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The Paris News
A loving collie who sits obediently by her owner Gary Turner is the Paris man’s best friend.
But Shelley is more than just a companion.
She is the ears for Turner, who has been deaf since childhood.
The man and his hearing dog attended a Lions Club meeting last week at Paris Junior College so that Turner could share with fellow Lions Club members about the availability of trained hearing dogs.
“I just want anybody who is deaf to know there is help out there,” Turner said. “Life is not easy for a deaf person, but you can do anything you want to do if you want to do it badly enough.
Turner is a college graduate working on a masters degree in criminal justice. He also holds paralegal certification. He moved to Paris about a year ago with his parents, Roy and Dorsie Turner.
“I hope to get a job in juvenile probation or do some paralegal work,” Turner said.
Turner has suffered recent health problems and is in between jobs, but has worked most of his life, many times living by himself.
At the age of three, Turner taught himself to lip read by watching television, his mother, Dorsie Turner said.
“We didn't realize he couldn’t hear until he was about 5 years old,” the mother said. “He has always been very independent and having a hearing dog makes that possible.”
Hearing dogs make living on his own possible, Turner said.
“These dogs are trained to react to a doorbell, an alarm clock, a telephone and smoke detectors,” Turner said. “Shelley also responds to any unusual sounds.”
Dogs can also alert sleeping parents to their children’s cries.
“If a baby cries, the dog will wake up the parents and lead them to the baby’s crib,” Turner said.
Shelley recently alerted everyone in the house to the monthly weather warning siren, something she is not specifically trained to do, Turner said.
“She kept going back and forth from me to the door,” Turner said. That is how hearing dogs alert their owners that something is going on.
“She responds to the alarm going off by jumping on top of me,” Turner said. “Now if you don’t think a 60 pound dog jumping into bed with you won’t wake you up you are mistaken.”
Shelley is Turner’s third dog, having lost two others to old age.
Turner explained that International Hearing Dog, Inc. provides dogs free of charge to people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
The organization, with headquarters in Henderson, Colo. selects dogs from animal shelters and puts them through four to eight months training before delivering them to a hearing impaired individual.
Trainers spend about a week with the dog in its new home to make sure the transition is smooth and that the deaf person knows how to use the dog and how to provide continuous training.
The non-profit organization exists on donations and private endowments. It has trained more than 950 hearing dogs since 1979 and has them in 49 states, the District of Columbia and Canada.
A loving collie who sits obediently by her owner Gary Turner is the Paris man’s best friend.
But Shelley is more than just a companion.
She is the ears for Turner, who has been deaf since childhood.
The man and his hearing dog attended a Lions Club meeting last week at Paris Junior College so that Turner could share with fellow Lions Club members about the availability of trained hearing dogs.
“I just want anybody who is deaf to know there is help out there,” Turner said. “Life is not easy for a deaf person, but you can do anything you want to do if you want to do it badly enough.
Turner is a college graduate working on a masters degree in criminal justice. He also holds paralegal certification. He moved to Paris about a year ago with his parents, Roy and Dorsie Turner.
“I hope to get a job in juvenile probation or do some paralegal work,” Turner said.
Turner has suffered recent health problems and is in between jobs, but has worked most of his life, many times living by himself.
At the age of three, Turner taught himself to lip read by watching television, his mother, Dorsie Turner said.
“We didn't realize he couldn’t hear until he was about 5 years old,” the mother said. “He has always been very independent and having a hearing dog makes that possible.”
Hearing dogs make living on his own possible, Turner said.
“These dogs are trained to react to a doorbell, an alarm clock, a telephone and smoke detectors,” Turner said. “Shelley also responds to any unusual sounds.”
Dogs can also alert sleeping parents to their children’s cries.
“If a baby cries, the dog will wake up the parents and lead them to the baby’s crib,” Turner said.
Shelley recently alerted everyone in the house to the monthly weather warning siren, something she is not specifically trained to do, Turner said.
“She kept going back and forth from me to the door,” Turner said. That is how hearing dogs alert their owners that something is going on.
“She responds to the alarm going off by jumping on top of me,” Turner said. “Now if you don’t think a 60 pound dog jumping into bed with you won’t wake you up you are mistaken.”
Shelley is Turner’s third dog, having lost two others to old age.
Turner explained that International Hearing Dog, Inc. provides dogs free of charge to people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
The organization, with headquarters in Henderson, Colo. selects dogs from animal shelters and puts them through four to eight months training before delivering them to a hearing impaired individual.
Trainers spend about a week with the dog in its new home to make sure the transition is smooth and that the deaf person knows how to use the dog and how to provide continuous training.
The non-profit organization exists on donations and private endowments. It has trained more than 950 hearing dogs since 1979 and has them in 49 states, the District of Columbia and Canada.