It’s customary for students to give a “Thank you” card to their teachers, but looks like a new furry teacher, at this school prefers a few cuddles instead.
Hearing assistance dog, Jovi, a cocker spaniel is considered as an assistant at Moulsford Preparatory School in Wallingford, along with 29 year old teacher Graham Sage, who has been going deaf since the last few years.
Jovi does a great job in assisting Mr Sage in his class 4, with a tap whenever pupils want to ask him a question when his back is turned or if the school bell has gone off.
Mr Sage did not allow his disability to come in the way of his career by taking the help of Jovi, his assistance dog.
Mr Sage says, ‘If a sound occurs that I need to know about he springs into action,’ He added: ‘I am very lucky because my employer and colleagues are all fantastically supportive, and Jovi’s presence has greatly increased everyone’s awareness of my deafness.’
Mr Sage says the students are also becoming more clearer in their communication due to Jovi. Mr Sage says that his hearing has deteriorated over the years, and due to it he could not even hear the school bell go off, but he thanks Jovi who assists him in the class and is also a hit among the pupils as well.
He further says, ‘I use him for classroom timers if I want to give the boys timed work, when the timer goes off he alerts me and also helps me with the fire alarms. ‘If a sound occurs that I need to know about he springs into action.
Mr Sage and wife Anna, 29, contacted Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, a national charity that trains dogs to alert deaf people to sounds and also provide them with emotional support and companionship, and was matched with Jovi.
He said that from the age of 15 he had felt his hearing becoming less, and throughout university he was finding it hard to hear properly, at home too his wife Anna was struggling to get his attention, but thanks to Jovi he can now lead a normal life.
Head teacher Ben Beardmore-Gray said: ‘We are delighted to have Jovi at the heart of Moulsford Prep School and can see the incredible support he gives Graham, allowing him to fulfill his teaching role.