Chelsea: The Story of a Signal Dog

by Paul W. Ogden

Paul Ogden, a deaf college professor, and his wife Anne, who is hard of hearing, discovered their "ears" in Chelsea, a beautiful, gentle Belgian sheepdog. Instead of herding sheep, like her ancestors, Chelsea works as a signal dog, helping the Ogdens live as normally as possible. She "tells" them if someone is at the door or on the phone, and wakes them when the alarm has gone off. She even reacts to the sound of strange voices and unusual noises. "A warm and witty book . . . Chelsea's tale is a delightful read. . . . That feeling of love and devotion -- the Ogdens for Chelsea and she for them -- comes through on every page of Paul Ogden's book." -- The Baltimore Sun

Genres: Animals

184 pages, Hardcover

First published January 23, 1992

Reviews

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not so much a book about the dog, as a book about hearing impaired people and the perception we may all have towards them. Chelsea is just great flavor for dog lovers.

[Kim Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A friend gave me the book Chelsea. I was intrigued because I have a Belgian sheepdog and have been into the breed for many years. Since I'm familiar with their intelligence, nothing Chelsea did surprised me. The book is fabulous. It also showed me what deaf people endure in the hearing world, and the great training lengths that is necessary in order for people to bond with their service dogs. Well done!

[Ren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very good book. If you are at all interesting in the deaf community or service dogs, you will enjoy this book.

[Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book it inspired me to get my own signal dog.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose this book both because I enjoy dog books and because I recently read Henry Ksor's 'What's That Pig Outdoors' so I felt it would be worth continuing my mini education on deaf culture. In fact, Ogden quotes from 'What's That Pig Outdoors' when he compares lipreading to American Sign Language noting that he prefers ASL because of the difficulty lipreading depending on the speaker or phrase being spoken. What the meat of the book is about however, is how Ogden and his hard-of-hearing wife Anne decided that a signal dog would be useful to them, the training program they partook in to be matched with Chelsea, and their experiences with her out in society.
Ogden noted that he hadn't even fathomed the idea of a signal dog until adopting a stray, Lox, from an animal shelter to be a pet. Ogden chose Lox because the dog seemed calm but confident and also kept his eyes on Ogden, this eye contact proving useful so that Ogden could teach him basic dog training commands via hand signal rather than verbal commands. Gradually, he and his future wife Anne realized that Lox would persist in getting their attention if there was someone at the door or the phone rang. Essentially, Lox trained himself to be a signal dog, but only in the capacity of their home or pet-friendly areas. When Lox passed away, the couple found that they had taken for granted all the ways Lox had improved their lives. For example, camping had been an activity they all enjoyed, but without Lox to alert them to the smell/sound of wild animals, or even other people, they suddenly felt unsafe in their tent.
Specially trained signal dogs were a new avenue being pursued when the couple got Chelsea, so their group at the dog training facility was a mix of deaf clients and clients with physical disabilities. Ogden didn't mention any visually impaired people in their group, so I suspect that the seeing eye dog programs were well-established and popular enough to be exclusive. They decided that Ogden should be Chelsea's primary handler, as Anne was able to hear a little, and she was able to do her job as a nurse without the need for a dog. Although Ogden doesn't specify what sort of nurse Anne is, I would imagine the presence of a dog could be more of a hindrance than a help if for example she worked in an operating room or tending to patients on a hospital ward. Ogden went into great detail about the people he worked with at the program, how he was matched with Chelsea, and all of the things they did together over an intense 2 weeks to make sure the right dogs were with the right people and would work well as a team once sent out into the real world together.
Once they were out in the real world, Ogden noted the successes and challenges they encountered. The educators at the training program prepared the new handlers for some of the situations they were likely to encounter, particularly from business owners who maintained a strict 'no dogs' policies. Because signal dogs were a new class of legally-permitted service dogs, Ogden did run into a number of such incidents but was generally able to diffuse the situation by producing his wallet card explaining Chelsea's role and her status as a service animal. Because deafness is a 'silent' condition in that the truly deaf do not wear hearing aids, which serve no function for them (but do for Anne), whereas the visually impaired often wear glasses/sunglasses or display their lack of vision in the manner they walk, and most of the people in the training group where in wheelchairs or used canes, Ogden often had to prove that he was indeed entitled to have his dog with him and wasn't just some ordinary guy trying to bring his pet wherever he went. He also relayed a humorous story in which a well-intentioned woman saw him standing with Chelsea on the island in between directions of traffic on a multi-lane road and quickly grabbed his hand, rushing them across the street. He realized afterwards that the woman thought he was a blind man whose dog was doing a poor job of navigating him through traffic as opposed to a deaf guy who had taken his dog on a long walk and was taking a breather while watching the hustle and bustle of the world around them.
All told, an enjoyable story, albeit dated, as this was also written in the early 1990s, just like 'What's That Pig Outdoors', so the assistive technology available now to aid the deaf was either in its infancy like the dog program or hadn't even been devised yet. That said, it didn't feel as dated as Kisor's book because the focus was so much on the dog and the impact the dog had on their lives, which I imagine would be similar regardless of the other technologies available.

[Veronica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book because it was required for my sign language class in college. I really enjoyed it because I was able to understand a little more in depth what deaf people feel and what they go through. Paul is actually a professor at my school, Ca State University Fresno and I was surprised to have met him. I was taking a beginning sign language class when I met him so I wasn't able to go into a real conversation with him. I wished to ask him about his book. It felt good to meet him. And no, I didn't see a signal dog with him. :)

[Kelly Sermeno · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It's a good book for dog lover and/or for people who are involved in or are interested in the deaf community. Paul is the narrator and he does a good job explaining what happened to him with his dogs. The story and also teaches and explains about living a life of a deaf person and the challenges they face on a daily basis. With their signal dog, Chelsea, she makes their lives easier, funner, and helps them to feel safe when home alone.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look into the deaf community and the importance of signal dogs!

[Toby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! My grandmother gave it to me as a gift several years ago, and I've read it at least four times.

[Ryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick enjoyable and enlightening read. I feel that I learned a lot about service dogs and the deaf community.