History

Where we’ve come from…

Lions Hearing Dogs Inc. was conceived in 1980 when two Past District Governors,  who were attending a Lions International Convention in the USA, found out about a Hearing Dogs Training Centre in Colorado.

After an enormous amount of effort and against considerable skepticism these Lions convinced the Lions Clubs of Australia to undertake a similar project in Australia.

At the Multiple District Convention in Canberra the Lions Clubs of Australia voted to support and fund this project.

A property was acquired at Verdun in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia and Ms. Gail Gould from the American program came out for two years to setup and start the Lions Hearing Dog program.

The first Lions Hearing Dog was delivered on 19^th April 1982 to a recipient who lived in a northern suburb of Adelaide. The dog’s name was Amber and the Lions Club of Edwardstown sponsored the dog. Amber died in 1995.

Since that time the Lions Hearing Dog Centre has grown to the extent that we have placed over 330 Hearing Dogs with recipients all over Australia.

Today the Centre has grown to incorporate two residences, one which is occupied by the Head Trainer and his family. The second house and office is where the administration work is carried out and the dogs are trained in sound awareness. At the rear there are 29 night kennels and 4 quarantine kennels all of which are heated. Adjacent to these, is a utility room where the dogs are washed, groomed and wormed etc. The bedding is washed and dried here.

There are five full time employees; an Executive Officer, a Head Trainer, two other trainers and a Kennel Manager. In addition we have a part time trainer and various other part timers and volunteers.

The aim is always to run this operation as efficiently as possible and to "worlds best practice"; to this end the Lions Hearing Dogs Inc. is oversighted by a volunteer Management Board which in turn reports to the Australian Lions Multiple District Council of Governors.