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| Jeff Hayman’s pit bull Bob Marley is being certified as a hearing dog, a move not endorsed by some canine organizations.
(joy lewis | the virginian-pilot) |
By DAVE FORSTER
The Virginian-Pilot
Video: Meet the man and his dog. Roger M. Richards | The Virginian-Pilot |
Virginia Beach
Before Jeff Hayman sleeps, he must remove both of his hearing aides so they can be cleaned.
This renders the 22-year-old completely deaf. Hayman's phone, doorbell or worse - a smoke alarm - could sound, and he wouldn't hear it.
But he would feel it, thanks to Bob Marley, one of the most unusual hearing dogs in the country and, to some, a controversial one.
Marley is a pit bull. Like any good hearing dog, he knows to wake his owner by nudging or jumping on him when he hears certain sounds. On Thursday, Hayman completed the last session in a 13-week course at Tidewater K-9 Academy to turn his muscular, 54-pound companion into a certified hearing dog.
This worries some people, but not those who know Marley.
"He's a sweetheart," said Noel Lahr, the receptionist at Midway Veterinary Clinic who petted a tail-wagging Marley during a visit last week.
"We wouldn't mind him coming here for day care, just so we could play with him," Lahr said.
Marley's appearance in the vet's office drew mixed reviews from the other pets. A beagle cowered under a bench, while a small, furry black Shih Tzu happily went nose to nose with the pit bull.
As he waited, Hayman told Lahr how an animal control officer had recently asked him whether he used his dog for fighting.
"I'm like, 'What,' " Hayman said.
He said that in the past few months, about 25 or 30 people have asked him whether Marley used to belong to Michael Vick, the NFL quarterback from Newport News charged with running a dogfighting operation in Surry County.
It doesn't help that the white fur on Marley's chest marks an uncanny resemblance to the number seven - Vick's jersey number.
Hayman, a Vick fan for years, said he deplores dogfighting. But h e loves pit bulls, and he wants to show people that they can make great pets or hearing dogs. He bought Marley as a puppy last August.
"I want to spread it to the people," he said.
Not everyone is convinced, however. Hayman's story has alarmed several people who deal with assistance dogs.
Corey Hudson is chief executive officer of Canine Companions For Independence, a California-based non profit group with seven locations. His organization trains only golden and Labrador retrievers, breeds Hudson says are so welcoming to strangers that they almost act as ambassadors for people with disabilities.
Hudson worried about the public reception Hayman might receive because of the aggressive reputation of pit bulls.
"Using a pit bull as a hearing dog is highly inadvisable in our opinion," Hudson said. "I can't say it vehemently enough - I'm just amazed."
Robin Dickson, president of Oregon-based Dogs for the Deaf, said that even though a pit bull might make an exceptional hearing dog, she worried about public perception.
"You get on a plane with one of those dogs, and everyone will be tempted to get off the plane," she said.
Dickson and Hudson, each members of Assistance Dogs International Inc., a coalition of organizations that train assistance dogs, are concerned about others following Hayman's lead and not properly training their dog. They said they had never heard of a pit bull being used as a hearing dog, although there was at least one used several years ago in Alaska.
Hayman said he has already changed some attitudes.
He recalled the first time he took Marley to Croatan in Virginia Beach. He's had a difficult time finding an apartment willing to rent to a pit bull owner, and he half-expected to be told to leave the beach.
But instead of keeping their distance, people approached him, he said. One was a 4-year-old boy. "Mommy, big doggy," the child said.
"Would you like to pet him?" Hayman asked.
Hayman saw the mother look uneasy, so he told Marley to sit. Before long, Hayman had the mother amazed.
Her son was pouring sand on a pit bull and petting its belly.
Dave Forster, (757) 222-5563, dave.forster@pilotonline.com
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Great Story!
I'm so glad that there are stories like this that come to light about good pit bulls. I have a red nosed pit bull like Bob Marley and she is a kind and funny dog. I love that I get to change people's perceptions of pit bulls just by being out and about with my own dog. I hope that this will open everyone's eyes about reality vs reputation and how good bullys come from responsible and ethical owners.
What a wonderful story!
What a heart-warming story! Kudos to Jeff Hayman for trying to show the wonderful things that pit bulls can do. I have a boxer-pit bull mix that I adopted a few years ago from Animal Rescue of Tidewater. Everyone who meets him is absolutely charmed by his happy face and constantly wagging tail. He is gentle as a lamb.
I'm surprised no body said it yet!!!
Helen Keller, the famous blind, deaf, mute woman, was pit bull assisted....and she was proud of it. Just a thought.
What's in the blood...
As a matter of fact, Pit Bulls represent what they were bred for quite well. Many Pit Bulls do tend to be animal aggressive and, whether or not they start the fight with another dog, they will certainly end it. There is a very important point you failed to mention though. Along with being bred to fight other dogs to the death, they were also bred for many generations to be completely friendly and submissive to humans, and they are. A Pit Bull is much more likely to do serious damage or kill another dog in a fight, however, though capable of severe damage if they do attack a human, they are far less likely to engage in such an act to begin with than lots of other breeds. Additionally, it's very ignorant to compare any domestic dog to a tiger
It's in the blood
You can't take out instinct out of any animal. Think about it. The tigers that the amazing team Sigfreid and Roy's, raised and loved in Las vegas from birth attacked it's own owner due to"inborn instinct". Nothing and no amount of"training" removed this. It's in the blood. Why does no one understand this? An animals first instinct is to be an animal and no amount of love, training or anything else will change that. Pit bulls were bred for fighting to the death. This is the reason it takes 3 men to open its jaws once they latch on to something or someone. Lets be real..as humans we love to portray our feelings onto the animals we have such as kindness, love and humanity, which is the furthest thing from the truth. An animal is an animal.
What a lovely dog
I'd be more than happy to sit next to Bob Marley or any other service dog on a plane.
It saddens me that some posters seem to be hoping for a tragedy just to confirm their own biased opinions.
Reputation
In this article, the professionals are not concerned about the dog or the youn man. They are concerned about the publicity that this may bring to their respective programs. They are more concerned about the PR than anything else.
I once new a family that trained their 2 living great danes into being guard dogs. No one could be around them after that. It is more the media's fault that those poor animals have such a bad reputation. It is nice to see a positive story for a change.
Ironic
My mother was raised with pitbulls. The last one her family had would walk her to the bus stop. He would nudge her away from the road and he would walk between her and the road. He was there waiting when she returned home doing the same thing. Ironically, I owned a Newfoundland, one of the most gentle dogs around. Totally unprovoked, he attacked my mother when he was 16 months old resulting in plastic surgery on her face. Three months later, unprovoked, he attacked me, once again in the face. Due to an untreatable illness, my mother recently had to put her dog down, a pitbull-boxer mix. Sweetest dog around. Her dog even accepted my shepherd huskie mix when I moved in 2 months ago. You can't generalize breeds.
great story
if only there were more stories like this about this breed.!!!we have 2 pits'. our baby girl is 12 and our loverboy is 9. they bring such joy to our home and family. people need to realise any dog is only a reflection of its owner.
Prejudice
prej·u·dice
noun, verb, -diced, -dic·ing.
-noun 1. an unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason.
2. any preconceived opinion or feeling, either favorable or unfavorable.
3. unreasonable feelings, opinions, or attitudes, esp. of a hostile nature, regarding a racial, religious, or national group.
4. such attitudes considered collectively: The war against prejudice is never-ending.
5. damage or injury; detriment: a law that operated to the prejudice of the majority.
-verb (used with object) 6. to affect with a prejudice, either favorable or unfavorable: His honesty and sincerity prejudiced us in his favor.
-Synonyms 2. preconception, partiality, predilection, predisposition. See bias. 6. bias, influence.
In "To Kill a Mockingbird," racial prejudice is involved in the case against Tom Robinson, but prejudice is also involved in people's attitudes toward Boo Radley, which had nothing to do with race.
Or a