From The Yomiuri Shimbun:
TOKYO — A Tokyo-based nonprofit organization will open a facility Friday in Yokohama to train abandoned dogs to become service dogs for the deaf, and use socially isolated young people cocooned at home to become hearing dog trainers.
Service dogs for the deaf assist the daily lives of the hearing impaired by such actions as informing caretakers about ringing doorbells and fire alarms.
As guide dogs for the blind, large breeds such as Labrador retrievers are most suitable. Because dogs to assist the deaf are usually employed indoors, a smaller breed is preferable but any breed can be trained for the purpose.
The number was an increase of only five in the five years since the law concerning dogs to assist the disabled came into force.
However, the association believes about 10,000 hearing-impaired people across the nation are hoping to be assigned a hearing dog.
The new training school, named Asunaro Gakko, follows the opening of similar ones in South Korea and the United States, to train young people who want to become hearing dog trainers.
The fee of 30 million yen (about U.S. $287,000) to build the school building and the annual operation costs are being covered by Samsung Japan Corp.
Students at the school will reside at the school dormitory while undergoing a six-month course from April to September or October to March. The school plans to accept five male students between 18 and about 30 for each period and require them to study dog training techniques by actually working with a dog for three hours daily.
The school envisions up to 10 guide dogs for the deaf will be trained annually.
The first students will enroll on Thursday.
The first three dogs to be trained at the school were abandoned animals provided by local governments who otherwise would have destroyed them. The dogs’ tame nature made them suitable candidates for hearing-dog training, according to the society.
The student trainers also are expected to become involved in volunteer activities to develop their social skills.
After completing the six-month course, the students can obtain support to go on to vocational school to further study dog training techniques and find a job in the pet industry.
Tamotsu Sengoku, head of Japan Youth Research Institute, is the school’s principal. “I hope the facility will raise people’s awareness of both the issues of abandoned dogs and hearing dogs,” he said.
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