Hearing dog Ron is the top new employee at Train AV

Mike Lammas, founder and director of AV training firm Train AV, has waited patiently for over four years for his latest employee.

This month Ron’s finally arrived to join the Train AV team based at Arena Business Centre in Ferndown, Dorset.  And he’s no ordinary recruit.

Ron is a hearing assistance dog; a cocker spaniel show dog crossed with a worker.  He’ll be supporting Lammas, whose business offers cross-platform training and commissioning services in AV and digital signage across the country.

Lammas explains: “It comes as a revelation to many people to discover that although I work in a world of sound, I am profoundly deaf, the by-product of a neurological condition I suffered when I was 27.

“I was determined not to let my disability put an end to using my skillset nor force me to give up my passion to run my own AV training business. I have become an accomplished lip reader and take translators with me to foreign assignments.”

Sadly, in the past couple of years, Lammas’ hearing has deteriorated even further, and he lives with huge levels of pain every day.

“After seeking advice from a pain consultant, I decided to do what was best for me and hope everyone in my industry would understand. I have been polling clients for the past two years to see if there would be any objections to me bringing a hearing assistance dog on site. My customers are so supportive, and Ron’s already got many invites to go to client workplaces,” he says.

After a four and a half year wait, with lots of form-filling and assessments, Lammas and Ron were matched and are finally together. A highly intelligent hound, Ron has been trained to be Lammas’s ears and alert him to dangers and specific sounds.

“As Ron is going to be travelling all over the country with me, it was important to have a dog that has a legal right of entry into premises such as workplaces and restaurants. Hearing Dogs for Deaf People are one of the few charities who provide dogs with access-all-areas status.”

Employer and employee are already working well together. “As soon as his harness and jacket go on, Ron knows it’s time for work,” explains Lammas. “His whole demeanour changes and he focuses fully on me.”

Lammas added: “It can cost up to 40k to train an assistance dog throughout its lifetime and I cannot thank the Hearing Dogs for Deaf People enough for their support. Ron is making a huge difference not only to my working life but my home life too.

“He’s so therapeutic to stroke and I am already noticing my pain levels have subsided exponentially. I feel more confident with Ron by my side when I am out in public.  I’m proud to be championing disability in the workplace and hope my story will help other disabled entrepreneurs continue to realise their goals. This four-legged friend and employee is a life-changer for me.”

For more information:

• You can follow Ron’s career via his own blog coming soon to Train AV’s website: https://trainav.co.uk/
• To learn more about Hearing Dogs for the Deaf, visit: https://www.hearingdogs.org.uk/