Article Archives >> Lead Stories >> September 16-October 15, 2010 Preview of Article: Court Refuses to Consider Start-up As Successor to Hearing Dog Program Trust fund given to SPCA for substantially reduced effort even though staff left to begin full-service program based on old model At the time that Gloria Berry, surviving beneficiary of a trust jointly established with her husband, died in 2007, the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals ran a program known as Hearing Dogs for the Deaf. It was a comprehensive program to obtain and train dogs to alert their owners to important sounds such as smoke alarms, doorbells, telephone and alarm clocks. With a full time staff of three and several part-timers, the SPCA trained and evaluated the dogs, provided follow-up training for dogs and their owners, provided supplies and did specific fundraising for the program.