San Francisco News Blog

Not long ago, we wrote about San Francisco's Hearing Dog Program, a recently formed nonprofit staffed by the folks who used to run the SPCA's program (until it was essentially disbanded last year). The Hearing Dog Program recently lost its legal dogfight with the SPCA to claim a $500,000 bequest -- but, last month, still managed to graduate its first class of meticulously trained hearing dogs.

The above video demonstrates just what those dogs can do -- and is intended to raise the organization's profile and catch the attention of the hard-of-hearing that a dog may be able to assist them around the home and out of doors. So, it was a bit strange that the video was released sans captions -- so its intended audience couldn't, you know, understand what's going on.

When informed of this oversight, Program Director Tom Oliver noted "Good point!" and promised a revamped version soon.

On a personal note, the sight of the above scruffy little canine making a ruckus and running to its master when the phone rings is extremely nostalgic -- our dog, Cazzie, intuitively figured out that Grandma Helen couldn't hear the phone and re-enacted the Second Battle of the Marne every time it rang.

He continued to do this for his entire life, long after Helen died, and only folks with perfect hearing inhabited the house. His phone ritual was adopted by every small child visiting the house. I'm sure my parents were thrilled.