Dandy the Hearing Dog

From the newsroom of The Sacramento Bee, California, Thursday, September23, 1999 .....

Diana Griego Erwin: Fire robs her of all but her sidekick

A desk in a corner at Pride Industries in Roseville sits empty this week. Below it, a fluffy doggy bed is empty too, except for a toy stuffed lamb standing guard over the usually rambunctious scene.

Rambunctious because Juanita Roup -- whom everyone calls "Nita" -- usually creates quite a stir in her corner and always without uttering a word.

Roup is deaf, but that doesn't keep her from being the firecracker in this small, close-knit office of co-workers who all seem to adore her.

"She's what you call feisty," said Sara Bumgarner, who sits behind her.

"We call her this," said Caryl McAdams and with one quick movement she signs "brat" in American Sign Language.

Her friends may have their opinions, but authorities are calling her lucky after 61-year-old Roup and her small terrier mix, Dandy, narrowly escaped from a fire Monday at their Carmichael home.

Roup and Dandy, who is trained to alert her human friend to sounds such as ringing telephones and fire alarms, were out on the driveway when firefighters pulled up. By then the house was fully involved in flames. Roup escaped with burns on her face and one arm, but lost everything of material value in the fire.

Everything except Dandy.

Everyone who knows Dandy knows the wiry canine as Roup's constant sidekickand best friend. She's one of those dogs that possess human characteristics.

Dandy wears sweaters in fall, antlers at Christmas and a shiny yellow slicker on rainy days, although not, Roup's co-workers said, without obvious embarrassment.

They said Dandy struts queenlike into the office every morning with stopsat each desk for short meet-and-greets, expecting at least a few pats or rubs to acknowledge her arrival. Then she dutifully retires to her bed under Roup's desk because business is business; Roup is pretty firm about that.

"Thank goodness nothing happened to that dog," said Jeannette Lewis, another office friend. "I don't know what Nita would have done then."

As it is, friends are worried about Roup's welfare now that she has lost her home and all its contents.

It isn't just the clothes, the pots and pans and treasured keepsakes most of us would miss, although these, too, are gone. People who are deaf depend heavily on technology to communicate and Roup lost both her computer and TTY machine in the fire. TTY technology allows people with hearing disabilities to communicate with others via telephone. The computer was only 3 weeks old. Dandy lost all her doggy toys. The two are staying temporarily with a friend.

Another problem is that Roup's previous rental arrangement was one she'll be hard pressed to replicate. The house that burned down was owned by an elderly friend who now lives in an assisted-care environment. His family generously rented to Roup for just $300 a month.

A search for housing Tuesday and Wednesday left Roup in tears. The most she can afford is $400 a month on her meager income as a disabled person, if she also wants to eat, she added ruefully.

At Pride Industries, a nonprofit organization that provides myriad services to people with disabilities, Roup assists in the employment services office with everything from filing and typing to publishing the department's client newsletter.

But she also keeps things, well, lively. When co-workers put filing in her "in" basket, she flashes them the sign for "No." She playfully insists that Harrison Ford is her boyfriend.

On her first day in the office two years ago, most of the co-workers didn't know sign language. Now they know enough to get by. Actually, she makes them sign. That's just the way she is.

None of them is fluent in American Sign Language, but a mix of legitimate signs and make-do charades has developed into a useful universal office language. The message her friends want to get out now is that their fiercely independent friend needs help.

"She's just this great person we love who needs to get back on her feet", McAdams said.

Roup's work friends are fielding suggestions and offers; questions can be directed to Caryl or Jeannette at Pride Industries, (916) 783-5473.