ILMINSTER Rotary were given an insight into the working of hearing dogs earlier this month.
Bryan Hollingsworth of the Hearing Dogs for Deaf People Trust visited the group along with local resident Robyn Back.
Bryan and his family have been involved in fund-raising for some years, since his mother became deaf and subsequently suffered loneliness, mainly through loss of contact with people.
Robyn Back, who accompanied Bryan, is a qualified British Horse Society Instructor whose golden retriever Wilson is a trained hearing dog and was the quiet star of the evening.
It costs £25,000 to create a partnership between a deaf person and a hearing dog, with ongoing support costing up to a further £15,000.
At present there are 873 active hearing dogs in Britain with 380 deaf applicants waiting.
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