I’M TEACHER’S PET!
Spaniel Jovi acts as assistant to his deaf owner in the classroom
NO matter how hard Graham Sage’s pupils try to become teacher’s pet, they know the job is already taken.
But then mr Sage’s cocker spaniel Jovi is really more of a classroom assistant. Jovi is a hearing dog and his presence allows the primary school teacher to carry on working.
He alerts mr Sage when a child calls out, lets him know when an alarm sounds and helps him on break duty.
mr Sage, 29, started losing his hearing at 15 but it wasn’t until he was at university that he went for tests.
He suffers from meniere’s disease, a condition of the inner ear, and also has pulsatile tinnitus. In the past five years his hearing loss has progressed
‘He helps me to lead a normal life’
from moderate to profound. His grandfather, who had similar symptoms, become completely deaf by 40.
mr Sage can speak and lip read but Jovi has become a vital part of lessons at moulsford Preparatory School in Wallingford, near Oxford, where he teaches boys in year four.
‘the boys love it, they always take a chance to go over to him and stroke him and even say goodbye to him at the end of the day,’ mr Sage said.
‘If a sound occurs that I need to know about, he springs into action.
‘my job would definitely be a lot harder without him. He’s very placid and likes to sleep a lot, he’s always keen to do whatever you ask him to.’
Jovi also helps mr Sage and his wife anna, 29, a physiotherapist, at home. ‘Communication could be quite difficult at times, as my wife anna could struggle to get my attention,’ he said.
‘Now, thanks to Jovi’s amazing abilities, anna can call him and ask him to “Go get Graham” and he’ll come and alert me and take me to her.
‘If my wife and I were to start a family, it is comforting to know that Jovi can be trained to alert me to a baby’s cry and will add to the safety of the household. Jovi helps me to lead a normal life.’ mr Sage, who plays rugby for the england Deaf rugby Union, has raised £20,000 for Hearing Dogs For Deaf People, which selects and trains dogs, then matches them with a deaf person. It costs the charity around £40,000 to train each dog.
David robson, from the charity, said: ‘Jovi not only helps Graham by alerting him to sounds, but he also provides emotional support and companionship, which is really important as hearing loss can cause people to feel isolated.’