EVEN if you are a cat lover, you have to admire the adaptable nature of dogs.

Few animals can turn their paws to quite as many jobs as our canine companions, be they pulling sleds, searching out explosives or acting as our own eyes and ears.

Local 'hearing dog' Pippa is one such talented pooch.

Although guide dogs for the blind are much more common, hearing dogs for the deaf are just as important to their owners.

Pippa's owner June Bray from Pensby started losing her hearing many years ago and in the early days managed to cope with the help of her husband and the rest of the family.

But as June's deafness worsened she felt she needed more assistance and having read about Hearing Dogs for Deaf People she applied for a dog in July, 2002.

Seventeen months later the charity placed golden retriever Pippa with her.

June, a home carer for Wirral council, has every reason to feel very proud, as Pippa has recently passed her final assessment with flying colours.

This means that they are now one of four fully-qualified hearing dog partnerships on the Wirral. Pippa alerts June to sounds like the alarm clock, doorbell and telephone by touching her with her paw, she then leads June to the sound source, except in the case of the smoke alarm when Pippa will touch and then lie down to indicate danger.

June said: "When I met Pippa for the first time I couldn't have imagined what a difference she would make to my life. She has given me back my independence.

"I no longer have to worry that I may miss the telephone or friends calling round. Pippa is so gentle and everyone we meet absolutely loves her, I have made so many new friends since having her.''

Not surprisingly, wherever June and Pippa go they receive lots of attention as people are keen to find out exactly what a hearing dogs does.

After one such meeting David Steele, a member of the Berwick Lodge in the Cheshire Province of Freemasons, said: "Our Lodge was so impressed with June and Pippa that we went on to donate £250 to the charity.''

David added: "We think hearing dogs are absolutely wonderful. They give so much to a deaf person, independence, confidence, security and of course companionship."