"Ron is a big hit at work"
Posted by Matt Sadler
Today is ‘Take your dog to work day’ which for many of our dogs, is every day!
Mike is Managing Director of his own audio-visual technical training company. Following operations on his mastoid bone, Mike became deaf in 2012.
The operations also left him with balance issues and in constant pain, which has severely impacted his quality of life. He was partnered with his hearing dog, Ron, in February 2023.
Below Mike shares the incredible difference Ron has made to his working life:
“He’s brilliant! I’m not sure whether I would’ve carried on training if it wasn’t for Ron. Just him being with me gives me more confidence and the ability to carry on.
“When the pain is getting to me, he knows and will come and comfort me. Stroking him has the most unique effect of reducing the pain and allowing me a moment to gather myself.
“Before, when meeting clients in person, I would say upfront that I have hearing loss but people would forget due to me being able to lipread. However people soon forget to face me, which makes it harder. The more people in a meeting, the harder it is to follow the conversation.
“Ron helps with this just by being there. People see Ron first and usually ask me what he does for me. It’s then more ingrained that they need to look at me, as he is a constant reminder to them that I have hearing loss.
“Ron also helps my mental health. When travelling to work before, I just focused on getting there, doing my job, and getting away. Travelling now takes longer, but stopping more to take care of Ron distracts me from my busy schedule and has reduced my stress level.
“In the office, he’ll tell me when he wants to go for a walk and it’s usually because my stress levels have increased. After walking, even for 15-20 minutes, I come back and find I can resolve the problem and once again I am focused.
“Ron is a big hit at work. I have a strict ‘no stroking’ rule when we arrive for training but promise that people can make a fuss of him if they pass the course! Ron, as you can imagine, looks forward to the end of the session where people take turns to meet him properly.
“He’s extremely intelligent and very, very playful, but he’s also really caring. He couldn’t have been a better fit for me – we’re both a little bit loco!”
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