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Certified therapy dog provides emotional support for many debilitated or injured people.
Neil Young and his service dog Timmy attend a Wilkes-Barre Kiwanis Club meeting. Timmy recently went deaf, which hampers his ability to work as a therapy dog, and Young is trying to raise donations to pay for a hearing aid.
Don Carey/The Times Leader
For Timmy, a 10-year-old service dog who had spent his whole life helping people by listening, it must have been a terrifying day when he couldn’t hear any more. Berwick resident Neil Young recalls the day and, in hindsight, regrets some of his reactions.
Young said his 10-year-old Springer/basset/lab mix was running across the road near their farm. It was unusual that Timmy didn’t return when called, so Young went over and disciplined the dog by instructing him.
Again, Timmy didn’t respond.
“I brought him into the house, and I gave him commands, and he started to shake,” Young said.
That’s when he could tell something was wrong.
For most canine pets, hearing doesn’t really affect their daily routine. But Timmy is a trained service dog for Young, who has narcolepsy and wouldn’t be permitted to drive otherwise. Timmy is also a certified therapy dog, providing emotional release for countless debilitated, handicapped, injured and scarred people in eastern Pennsylvania and adjacent regions.
That’s why Young and his wife, Vonnie, chose an option that has been used for very few dogs in the country, and it’s why they’re looking for help from the public to fund the expensive procedure.
Timmy is getting a wireless hearing aid that will connect to a wireless microphone Young will wear – making Timmy “not a bluetick,” Young says, “but a Bluetooth hound.” He’ll be the third dog in the nation to receive a hearing aid and the second to get a wireless one, which is preferred because he moves around a lot in his job.
Even with discounted and donated materials and services, the procedure is likely to cost at least $4,000, and the Youngs are about $1,000 short. They’re asking for donations to cover the expense.
In exchange, they’re willing to bring Timmy and any of their other assorted therapy animals – including several ducks with high-top fade coiffures and donkeys – to events and fundraisers.
In fact, they’ll be available at Public Square in Wilkes-Barre on Dec. 17 for a Kiwanis Club fundraiser to benefit the Salvation Army.
Timmy’s procedure is being done at the University of Cincinnati’s FETCH/LAB, which stands for Facility for Education and Testing of Canine Hearing and Laboratory for Animal Bioacoustics. The device is being made from a mold of Timmy’s ear and will link via a wireless signal to a radio receiver attached to his collar. The receiver will pick up radio transmissions from Young’s microphone.
The hearing aid can work several ways, according to John Greer Clark, who directs an audiology clinic at the university. Beyond the microphone, it can amplify ambient sound, while both of the features can be turned off independently to leave just the other.
Through Young’s contacts as retired New Jersey police officer, Timmy was the only therapy animal allowed at the World Trade Center site during the cleanup in 2001. Young said he remembered emergency workers crying as they petted Timmy because they had to be stoic with everyone else.
He would like Timmy to continue his helpfulness and hopes the public values it as well.
“He’s still doing his work, but we just can’t communicate” well, Young said. “If it was just what he was doing for me, I couldn’t expect the public to help much.”
To donate
Donations, in the form of checks made out to the nonprofit “Young’s Funny Farm” and specified for Timmy, can be mailed to: Neil Young, 764 Knob Mountain Road, Berwick, PA 18603-5853.
Donations can also be dropped off at containers in the Petco store in the Wilkes-Barre Township Commons, the Tractor Supply Co. store on the Sans Souci Parkway in Nanticoke, the lobby of The Times Leader office at 15 N. Main St. in Wilkes-Barre or the front desk of the Best Western Genetti Hotel & Convention Center on Market Street in Wilkes-Barre.