Hearing Dog Neve is now settled with her recipient
We are delighted that our little playful black pup Neve has completed all of her training and was placed earlier this year with her recipient Liz. There are so many people that made this match possible, not least Wagging Tails dog owners, carers and franchisees who supported us to fund our very own Hearing Dog. Covid delayed Neve’s placement and we’ve waited until Neve was settled in before sharing an update with you and today, 1st October National Black Dog Day, seems the best day to share this wonderful update from Neve’s recipient Liz.
In the morning Neve and I go for a walk in the park across the road from our home. That doesn’t sound too remarkable until I tell you that in the 6 years us of living here, we’ve been for walks in there perhaps once or twice a year if that.
The Park is divided into a number of ‘fields’, separated by wooded areas. Each ‘field’ has a different purpose: some are given over to sports, the grass kept short, others are allowed to go wild. To walk around the entire thing takes around an hour, but there are multiple paths through the wooded areas it’s possible to vary the route almost every time. Neve and I love walking in there, exploring the narrow paths through the wooded bits.
One morning was given over to wildflower. Collecting clover, buttercups, bramble roses, etc (to be pressed). Neve helped, sampling bits of flowers and grass seed (she is a Labrador) and we mooched our way across the field, content in each other’s company. She didn’t run off, and I didn’t have to call her. We just walked together, like friends do. It was the kind of walk you dream about having, as a wanna-be dog owner. If this was a film, we’d be bounding through the grass together with happy smiles before falling over with lots of snuggles with Neve!
To get to this point, however, has been a long and hard journey. Neve arrived on 13th January 2021 and although myself and my (hearing) husband fell in love with her immediately, it took a bit longer for Neve to settle in. We’re both experienced dog owners (in our late 40s, no children) so for us it was a case of learning about hearing dogs and their training methods, and Neve in particular. We had lots of support from Neve’s trainer and the PI (Mandy and Alison).
Neve arrived at an opportune moment in my life. Just before Christmas I had submitted my doctoral thesis that I had spent years researching and working towards, culminating in an 80,000-word, 323-page thesis. After submission you’re suddenly left with nothing to do and mental health-wise that can (and did) hit very hard. I got through Christmas okay but was very glad to have Neve arriving when she did: it gave me something else to focus on. That said, the sudden upsurge in walking (I went from around 2,000 steps a day to nearly 10k) was hard – both physically and mentally and at times I really doubted that I would be able to cope with it.
My lowest point, in around mid-March, I remember sitting in the bath one night absolutely convinced that Neve ‘didn’t like me’ and that I would have to give her back. I was sobbing my heart out at the idea of losing her. Fortunately, my husband heard and brought Neve in to see me: A small black nose peeping over the side of the bath with a tentative lick of my hand helped (followed by hugs and a chat with my husband).
Lockdown and the weather certainly did not help – just day after day of wet, cold wind and the physical grind of walks just seemed interminably hard. Neve’s recall just wasn’t where I needed it to be, and it felt like I spent half my time running after her and apologising to people (especially when she’d stolen another dog’s ball!).
Then April dawned. We had several weeks of lovely weather – sunny, but not too hot. The ground dried out. Her recall was still not great, but that daily grind didn’t seem so hard anymore. Physically it seemed to get a bit easier. We started to meet people outside, either neighbours in gardens (Neve likes to greet people!) or people in the park.
In the house she’s wonderful. Beautifully behaved, we were making great strides with sound work and both her trainer, and our PI were happy with progress and bonding. The best times, for both of us, are when we practice ‘waking up’ with the kitchen timer. After she gets her food & praise reward, she gets the real reward – lots and lots of cuddles on the bed! She’s very opinionated. She makes it clear when it is bedtime and dinner time. She’ll go a long way for a bit of kibble, carrot, or fish skin.
She was here for my PhD verbal examination, charming my interpreters (and yes, I passed with flying colours – I am now Dr Liz) and she helped us to celebrate. She was very interested in the champagne! Those horrible days of February and March, which were such a struggle, seem to be a very long time ago, and while winter will of course return, I feel confident that this time around, we’ll cope better… together.
Thank you for all your support in making this partnership with Neve possible.
Liz x