About us
The Association les Chiens du Silence, located at the foothills of the Pyrenees, 19 km from Tarbes on the R21 national road, provides free hearing dogs to deaf or hard-of-hearing people to help them regain their independence.
The Association les Chiens du Silence organization is founded
Association certification: we became the only organization in France to receive certification for the supply of hearing assistance dogs!
We joined CANIDEA, the national confederation of assistance dog organizations.
2 trainers are joining the adventure to help us give more dogs!
The Association also joins the ranks of European experts.
After years of voluntary work, Cathy becomes an employee!
It's also the year of the arrival of 2 new people, in charge of communications.
Handing over the association's 100th dog!
Our story
The adventure began in 2010, when Cathy and Frédéric realized during a trip to Canada that, while hearing dogs had been used in Great Britain and Canada for over 40 years to help the deaf and hard-of-hearing, no such help existed in France, not even proper training!
Back in France, they created the Association les Chiens du Silence and Cathy learned how to train these extraordinary dogs…
From dog to dog, year after year, she perfected her technique and tested several breeds before settling on the one best suited to the task: the Australian Shepherd.
At the same time, Frédéric set about developing the Association, which is now recognized and growing, training a large number of dogs every year to meet the ever-increasing demand from people with disabilities.
The team
The team of the Association les Chiens du Silence is made up of passionate people who are totally committed to carrying out their missions, in a family atmosphere and in good spirits!
Frédéric
President
Mickaël
Communication manager
Cathy
Technical manager
Victoria
Trainer
Emma
Trainer
Trainer
Educatrice
Maëva
Dog carer
Noëlie
Dog carer
It is supported by a volunteer board, which ensures that the right decisions are taken, and by a volunteer committee, which is responsible for studying applications and deciding on the most appropriate course of action, according to a wide range of criteria.
It remains in existence thanks to the many supporters and host families who give their time and energy, helping the Association’s team to achieve its mission: to enable people with disabilities to regain their confidence and independence!
Our mission
Les Chiens du Silence’s missions
- Train and give free hearing dogs to deaf and hard-of-hearing people.
- Raising public awareness about deafness and the invisible handicap it entails
- Promoting the accessibility of assistance dogs and their users at both the French and European level.
- Monitoring the pairs to ensure their long-term well-being
Our training center
On premises with 4,520 ft² of secure play space and 3,229 ft² of sheltered kennels, the Association trains and hands out around ten hearing dogs to hearing-impaired or deaf people every year.Work is underway to create over 1m² of office space, a rest room for our employees, a mini-studio for working with dogs in real-life situations and a meeting room.
Work is underway to create over 1291.67m² of office space, a rest room for our employees, a mini-studio for working with the dogs in real-life situations, and a meeting room.Work is underway to create over 1291.67² of office space, a rest room for our employees, a mini-studio for working with the dogs in real-life situations, and a meeting room.Work is underway to create over 1291,² of office space, a rest room for our employees, a mini-studio for working with the dogs in real-life situations, and a meeting room.Work is underway to create over 1291 ft² of office space, a rest room for our employees, a mini-studio for working with the dogs in real-life situations, and a meeting room.Work is underway to create over 1291 ft² of office space, a rest room for our employees, a mini-studio for working with the dogs in real-life situations, and a meeting room.
Our thanks to all our volunteers, host families, partners, donors and members, without whom this human adventure of solidarity would not be possible. It is this spirit of mutual aid that the Association wishes to cultivate: thank you all for keeping it alive!
- human adventure
- important adventure
- adventure of solidarity
All operating, acquisition and training costs for the dogs are entirely covered by the Association les Chiens du Silence: the provision of an assistance dog is in fact free of charge for the beneficiary.
Your support makes this mission possible!
