HIGASHI-OSAKA, Osaka Prefecture—At the end of their long and close relationship, Miki Ando was the one providing aid for Leon, a dog specially trained to help deaf people.

Leon himself developed hearing problems after he was officially retired as an aid dog.

While in service, the hound not only provided the ears for Ando, who was born deaf, but he also traveled with his master across Japan for lectures to promote awareness of hearing canines.

The two had developed an incredibly close bond since Leon started living with Ando, now 52, at her home in Higashi-Osaka in 2009.

Leon had been singled out by the Japanese Association for the Promotion of Hearing Dogs in Saitama Prefecture outside Tokyo for his serious but friendly nature as an assistance dog for hard-of-hearing individuals.

He was an ownerless dog kept at an animal protection facility when he entered Ando’s world.

Around that time, Ando was exhausted with her life.

RAISED AS A ‘HEALTHY’ CHILD

Ando said her mother raised her as a “healthy kid,” rigorously teaching her how to lip-read and speak clearly.

However, the mother prohibited her daughter from relying on sign language.

With dreams of becoming a manga artist, Ando moved from her hometown in the Kyushu region to attend a junior art college in Tokyo.

But she was never given the chance to debut. An editor told her that it was difficult for anyone, including deaf people, to work as assistants for comic artists in the tight market.

Ando married a man who also had an auditory disorder. The couple had one child before they split up.

Ando worked as a permanent company employee until late at night while raising her son alone. She said it was unrealistic to take a higher position at her workplace under her job contract as a disabled individual.

Driven by a growing sense of emptiness, Ando quit the job to spend more time with her son. She then made her living by offering computer classes to children with disabilities.

During a trip to Australia, Ando learned about hearing dogs, and quickly decided to obtain one in Japan.

An aid canine “will help connect me with the outside world,” she said she thought at the time.

After picking up Leon, the dog would make motions to inform Ando of important sounds in daily life, such as babies crying.

When Ando drove, Leon sat in the front passenger’s seat and shook his head to alert her of approaching motorcycles out of the driver’s line of vision.

One time, Ando cried after she and Leon were thrown out of a store because staff did not know about hearing dogs.

Leon gently licked away the tears from her face.

Ando said Leon’s care brought about a profound feeling of safety.

Few people know about hearing dogs, even though they are legally included in the same category as guide dogs for vision-impaired individuals.

Japan had only 63 hearing dogs working nationwide as of April 2021.

With that in mind, Ando and Leon started on their cross-country journey to improve the public’s understanding of hearing canines.

AFTER RETIREMENT

Leon ended his role as a hearing dog in December 2017. After his successor took over, Leon remained at Ando’s home as a pet.

Two years ago, Leon became unable to respond properly even when spoken to. He became totally unresponsive six months later likely due to his difficulty in hearing.

Leon and Ando ended up communicating through sign language, which Ando started learning intensively after she turned 20. Leon was able to memorize the manual signs.

In August this year, Leon started increasingly staying still all day long. If he showed no reaction to Ando’s words, she would put a hand on his chin and ask him through sign language if he wanted “something to eat.”

Leon stuck out his tongue tell Ando he was hungry, and then munched on easy-to-digest, home-cooked food.

Ando shortened her working hours in spring to look after Leon, whose health was rapidly deteriorating.

He appeared anxious whenever Ando left his side, so she explained the reasons, such as “going to a bathroom,” in sign language.

“My encounter with Leon made my life happier,” Ando recalled thinking. “He led me when I was discouraged. It is my turn to help him.”

Leon, however, suffered convulsions and difficulties breathing.

Although his health once looked like it was improving, he died in Ando’s arms in the daytime of Sept. 9 with a relaxed look on his face. He was 14.

Bidding farewell to Leon, Ando expressed gratitude for “your hard work” and stroked his head again and again.