There’s a new North Island import in Cromwell, and this one is furrier than most - Cruz, a trained hearing dog.

The 15-month-old Cavoodle is unique in these parts - there’s no other accredited dog of his kind located in Central Otago or Queenstown Lakes.

Cruz helps his owner, Nick Linton, navigate daily life with hearing loss by alerting him to important sounds such as a knock on the door, a mobile phone ringing, people calling his name or an oven timer going off.

It’s Cruz’s job to gently paw Nick, then lead him to the source of the sound.

He arrived in town two weeks ago from New Plymouth, where Hearing Dogs New Zealand trains its dogs in simulated home settings.

Nick lost hearing in one ear in a water polo accident at 13 years old. Now, hearing in his other ear is starting to deteriorate after a tumble turn went wrong just a few years ago at the pool in Cromwell.

“The writing is on the wall for me in terms of my hearing loss,” Nick said.

“My hearing is not going to get better - it’s going to get worse.

“And it’s starting to get problematic. I could fake it for a while, but I just can’t now.”

When The Central App visited Nick’s Cromwell home to meet Cruz and Hearing Dogs New Zealand recipient coordinator Fliss Wilson, a little test was underway.

After a morning of training, Nick and Fliss ignored our knock, waiting for Cruz to prove his worth - and he did.

By the second ignored knock, Cruz was on his feet, heading over to Nick, tapping him, and leading him to the entryway.

New dog owner Nick Linton relaxing at home with his ‘wee mate’ Cruz. Image: The Central App

Nick said hearing loss could be “very isolating”.

“One-on-one, you’d never know,” he said.

“But cafes, restaurants - they’re a nightmare.”

And Cruz is already helping on that front.

“Cruz makes it better. He’s companionship. He’s my wee mate,” Nick said.

Fliss was in Cromwell last week, working with Nick and Cruz on some on-location training.

She said hearing dogs are different from guide dogs because they don’t take commands and need to think for themselves.

“You’ll see Cruz working things out,” she said.

Like with the door knock.

“He would have heard the knock. We kept talking. Now, I might be making this up a bit, imagining his thought process, but he understands Nick hasn’t heard the sound, and he needs to alert Nick to that sound.”

So, what do people need to know when they see Nick and Cruz in public?

Cruz will be wearing a yellow jacket marked ‘HEARING DOG FOR THE DEAF’ when he’s on duty.

“He kind of has two modes - family dog mode and work mode,” Nick said.

“When we’re out and about in town, he has legal access to cafes, restaurants, retail shops, even the cabin of a plane.

“When people come up, if he’s got his jacket on, ask before petting him.”

Nick said it was a “two-way street” and the training and accreditation process would continue to ensure Cruz performed and behaved well in public settings.

Have a story to share or comment to make? Contact editor@centralapp.nz