大家都說狗是人類最好的朋友，特別在英國，牠還可能成為45,000名聽損孩子的生活好夥伴。助聽犬可以協助孩子學習同理，自信與獨立。不僅只如此，近期研究指出，受過訓練的狗兒，能改善孩子在校的行為，也能引導提生孩子的課業學習表現。
Dogs are commonly known as man's best friend, but it turns out they may also be a child's, particularly if those children are one of the 45,000 deaf children in the UK. Hearing dogs, as they are known, could transform many young lives by offering companionship, confidence and independence. Not only that, but these specially trained dogs could improve behaviour at school and lead to better academic performance, a recent study has found. (Graham Satchell reports)
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影音字幕 VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:
Reporter: 7.59 and 11-year-old James is about to get a unique wake-up call. 11歲的James將有個特別的起床號！
BEEPING NOISE
Reporter:
James is hard of hearing. His dog Kurt has been trained to get him out of bed. James is one of the first children in the country to get a hearing dog for the deaf. They've become the best of friends.
James為聽損者，他受過訓練的狗(柯特)會叫他起床。James是在英國第一批使用助聽犬的聽損孩童。狗兒變成他們生活裡的最好朋友。
James: I love my dog, and he's a very good boy.我愛我的狗狗，他是個很棒的男生。
Reporter:
Kurt has been trained to respond to certain sounds and commands. It's been a godsend for James's mum, Louise.科特接受過特別訓練，對於特定的聲音與指令作反應。媽媽Louise說，這對James來說像是個天賜的禮物。
Louise:
If I'm cooking downstairs, I can call the dog, Kurt will go and get James and give him a nudge. James will say, 'What is it?'若我在樓下煮飯時，我可以讓狗狗去找James，給他個擁抱。James會說，"是什麼事呢？"
James: What is it? 什麼事情?
Louise: And he will follow Kurt back to me, so he brings him to me. It saves me a lot of running up and down the stairs. 他會跟著柯特下樓，也就是說，柯特會帶他來。幫我省了不少上下樓梯的情況。
Reporter: But it's not just about convenience. Kurt has also been trained to respond to things like the smoke alarm. (BEEPING NOISE) As soon as it goes off he'll find James and lie down. James knows that if Kurt does lie down there is danger and he goes to find his mum.不僅只在生活上的便利性，柯特也會對煙霧警示的訊號作反應。在警示器響起時，他會去找James，在看見James時，他會趴下以表示"有危險"，接著他們會一起去找媽媽。
Louise: I'm amazed what an animal can do for a human being. James has problems with his speech - he's become more confident as a person. Those feelings of isolation, I'm sure, are getting less and less. It's wonderful to have the dog in the house, in fact it's hard to think back to how life was without Kurt.
我很訝異動物能夠這樣的幫助人們，James有說話上的困擾，而他現在也更有自信。那種被孤立感受，我相信已經越來越少。而且，在家中能有狗狗也是很棒的事情，很難想像生活裡回到沒有柯特的狀態。
Reporter: Kurt has become part of the family and James helps to look after him. In the last year, the charity Hearing Dogs for Deaf People has for the first time placed 12 dogs with children. Like James, they have all grown in confidence, have slept better and, they say, feel safer.
柯特成為了家中的一員，James會幫忙照顧牠。去年，助聽犬慈善機構提供第一批12隻陪伴兒童的助聽犬，協助James一樣的聽損孩童，讓他們更有自信，睡得更好。聽損孩子們也表示，他們會感覺到更安全。
James: Kurt is my best friend 柯特是我最好的朋友
Reporter: A friend, a guardian, a carer. 一位朋友，也是守護者，也是照顧者。
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