Koh Charis, Chillingworth Holly, Driscoll Carlie, Hill Jessica, Narayan Edward
School of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia.
School of Agriculture & Food Science, University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia.
Animals (Basel). 2025 Mar 10;15(6):785. doi: 10.3390/ani15060785.
This paper delves into the development and implications of the Hearing Dog Evaluation and Reporting Overview (HERO) tool, which is a novel initiative built on the Five Domains animal welfare model to comprehensively assess the wellbeing of Hearing Dogs. The HERO's creation involved two phases. In Phase One, an expert panel was surveyed using an electronic Delphi technique to gather consensus on items for the tool. This phase culminated in 28 items, exhaustively covered the Five Domains, and offered a holistic evaluation of Hearing Dog welfare. Phase One complemented existing assistance animal standards and emphasised the importance of a quality environment and continuous wellbeing monitoring. Phase Two involved 23 Hearing Dog owners, to assess the tool's usability, particularly its user-friendliness and perceived value. Concerns about handlers' ability to identify welfare indicators were raised, highlighting the need for additional development of resources and guidance. This preliminary study has shown that the HERO is a promising tool for understanding and promoting Hearing Dog welfare. Future research will look to validate the tool by drawing from expert observations and physiological measures, tailoring survey questions, and creating a user-sharing platform.
本文深入探讨了听力犬评估与报告概述（HERO）工具的开发及其影响。该工具是一项基于动物福利五维度模型的全新举措，旨在全面评估听力犬的福祉。HERO的创建分为两个阶段。在第一阶段，通过电子德尔菲技术对一个专家小组进行了调查，以就该工具的项目达成共识。这一阶段最终确定了28个项目，全面涵盖了五个维度，并对听力犬的福利进行了整体评估。第一阶段补充了现有的辅助动物标准，并强调了优质环境和持续福祉监测的重要性。第二阶段涉及23位听力犬主人，以评估该工具的可用性，特别是其用户友好性和感知价值。有人对训练者识别福利指标的能力表示担忧，这凸显了进一步开发资源和指南的必要性。这项初步研究表明，HERO是一个了解和促进听力犬福利的有前景的工具。未来的研究将通过借鉴专家观察和生理测量结果、定制调查问卷以及创建用户共享平台来验证该工具。
