Sunday marks Help-the-Disabled Day in China. The day aims to raise awareness of the plight faced by the country's 80 million people living with disabilities. The deaf and people with impaired hearing account for about a quarter of this figure.

To mark the day, Beijing established its first hearing dog training center. The trained canines alert their owners to important sounds, such as doorbells, smoke alarms and ringing telephones. Hearing dogs provide a vital service by barking or physically leading their owners away from danger, for instance in the case of a ringing fire alarm. After alerting their owners, dogs are rewarded by being given a treat. The dogs can be trained in as little as three months.

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