July 15, 2025 • 16 mins
The 12th Annual Petbarn Foundation Seeing Eye Dogs Appeal has launched. Janelle Miller X, award-winning CEO from the Petbarn Foundation, tells Peter Greco how to get involved. Seeing Eye Dogs provide vital support, constant companionship, independence and contribute to an all-round better quality of life for people in our community who are blind or have low vision.
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Episode Transcript
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S1 (00:13):
What's a really big and important month for seeing Eye
Dogs Australia and indeed the Pet Foundation, as we, uh,
try and raise a few funds to raise a few
more seeing eye dogs. Let's chat about it with the
CEO for the Pet Barn Foundation, Janelle Miller. Great to
meet you. Thank you for your time.
S2 (00:30):
Thanks for having me, Peter.
S1 (00:31):
This is an important month, isn't it? It's an important time,
but I guess it's a very busy time in terms of, uh,
trying to raise the profile and raise funds.
S2 (00:39):
Yeah, absolutely. July is our annual Pet Barn Foundation seeing
eye dog appeal. We've been running it for the last
12 years now, and very proudly together with Vision Australia,
we've raised very close to $9 million, which is funded.
I know it's great and it's funded almost 200 dogs,
which we're hoping to crack that mark this year.
S1 (01:01):
Terrific. To $9 million. I mean, you know, without being silly,
that's a lot of money in anyone's language. So, uh,
you know, $9 million in 12 years. That's, uh, something
to really be very proud of.
S2 (01:11):
Yeah, we are really proud of it. It's the impact
that we can make for the blind and low vision
community that we're most proud of. We can really see
the hard work that goes into training these dogs and
the difference that it makes in people's lives.
S1 (01:23):
Now you're kind of going for over 1,000,000 in 1
year this year, aren't you? You're aiming at 1.1.
S2 (01:30):
We are. That's right. So this year our target is
$1.1 million. And that'll fund, with some luck, over 22
seeing eye dogs, which, you know, that's that's a lot
of dogs. It's a lot of people that could have
one of those amazingly trained companions by their side.
S1 (01:48):
22 as you say that that's, uh, you know, 50,000
each year. That exactly works out to exactly 1.1 million.
The quick math on the run, you know, which is
always dangerous. So, uh, well done on that. So, um,
in terms of, um, the work that they do or
the sort of benefits that they bring to people's independence
and quality of life. I mean, you know, we talk
about 50,000 for each dog, but you probably can't really
(02:10):
put a price on it when you look at it
from a quality of life or independence point of view.
S2 (02:14):
No. That's right. And I think what I love about
this appeal more than anything is that I've met a
lot of visionaries, Australia, clients that do have a seeing
eye dog and the freedom of life that they have
to live more independently to navigate through public spaces to achieve,
you know, the fullest life that they can live is
(02:37):
coupled up with a dog. You know, for those of
us that are pet lovers, having a dog by your
side 24 over seven, but a dog as well trained
as a seeing eye dog is, you know, we use
the word life changing, but I truly believe it is.
S1 (02:51):
A great point you make about being trained, because I
guess that's what a lot of the sort of effort
goes into, both financially and physical in terms of, uh,
or nearly two years of work before, um, from sort
of zero to, uh, the Seeing Eye dog and the
client being put together.
S2 (03:06):
Yeah. That's right. Well, they start training these beautiful puppies
really early, around eight weeks of age. And that's where
the puppies learn basic socialization skills. And they are obviously
supported by volunteer carers for the puppy development trainers. But,
you know, two years of specialised training before they're matched
up with their client is, you know, really remarkable. And
(03:28):
they learn over 40 different commands. So they're put to
hard work and they're really up for the job.
S1 (03:34):
Okay. That's interesting. Yes. That is about 40 commands. I
mean that's I don't think I know that many on
my computer. So obviously the dogs are much smarter than
I'll ever be. But on a serious note, of course,
the clients that Vision Australia and the get to seeing
eye dogs are or they get them. They're based all
over the country as well aren't they.
S2 (03:53):
Yeah that's right. This is a national appeal and the
vision Australia seeing eye dogs do help clients nationally.
S1 (03:59):
Which is a great thing because you know, often you know,
people in sort of more rural or remote areas. Yeah.
Get forgotten. But they live out in those areas. And
if they choose to live out there, either for family
and friends reasons, or just because that's the lifestyle they choose.
Then they still get the wonderful benefits of having the
the the seeing eye dog.
S2 (04:19):
Yeah, absolutely. Well, it's your vision. Australia estimates there are
over 453,000 people in Australia who are blind or have
low vision, and that number is projected to grow by
about 25% by 2030. So, you know, that's all over
the country. And so we need to make sure that,
as you said, the blind and low vision community are supported.
(04:42):
And that's why the Petbarn Foundation appeal is national.
S1 (04:45):
And that a growing number, I guess it's due to
all sorts of reasons. I mean, you know, sadly, in
a sense that ageing can impact upon your vision loss.
And I guess just, you know, different things that are
happening as far as the community goes and individuals goes,
you know, type two diabetes, uh, all that sort of stuff.
That all can be related to the fact that the,
(05:05):
the number of people who might be blind or have
low vision is increasing at a quite a rapid rate.
S2 (05:10):
Yeah. That's right. You know, we've got medicine. You know
that's it's developing better and better. And out of that
we live a longer life. But out of that as well,
some of those, as you've mentioned, type two diabetes and
aging population. That all adds up to, um, those statistics.
S1 (05:27):
They talked about how much you love what you do
and how much the foundation do. Working with Vision Australia,
you'll recognize an award. Uh, a couple or so years ago,
I was.
S2 (05:36):
That's right. You dug deep there. Yeah, I was recognized,
which I was very grateful for. Very humbled by. You know,
I actually I say a lot that working with Vision
Australia is one of my favorite appeals of the year.
And just because I absolutely, wholeheartedly believe that Vision Australia
and Seeing Eye Dogs is one of the best charities
(05:58):
in the country that deserve all the support they can get.
Just the difference they make in people's lives with the
dogs is, um, really is something close to my heart.
S1 (06:08):
Well, it certainly sounds like it. So what are some
of the things that you're doing? I know that there's, um,
you know, kind of a literally a team of people
that are helping as far as this particular campaign goes.
S2 (06:17):
Yeah. That's right. Well, this campaign we've actually just, um,
you know, as we've been going in the last 12 years,
it's been incredible, actually. We've we've got some sporting stars
on board as the campaign and the appeal continues to grow,
we've we're getting more profile and awareness around the appeal.
And so we've got for those of you who like NRL,
(06:38):
we've got the Cronulla Sharks that are on board. Uh
those of you who like soccer, we've got Melbourne Victory.
We've also got Collingwood Brownlow Medallist Tom Mitchell and former
Yeah Diamonds captain Caitlin Bassett. Um, who are joining us
to really just talk about, you know, the the comparison
between high quality athletes and the training that goes into
(06:59):
these dogs and, and what it takes to be the
very best at your game.
S1 (07:03):
That's an interesting, uh, sort of a comparison, isn't it? Because,
I mean, as you say, you know these athletes as
far as the, the, the human athletes, obviously trying really
hard to get to where they want to get to,
but the, the, the dogs work particularly hard. And I guess,
you know, without being unkind to our, uh, sporting friends
that there's a bit of, uh, cerebral, uh, work that
goes into the dogs as well as you touched on
(07:24):
earlier with the 40 commands.
S2 (07:25):
Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I think, you know, to be the
best at what you do, it takes consistency and training. And,
you know, I think, as you said, there is a
comparison there that, um, that those dogs are just as
wonderful as our top performing athletes.
S1 (07:41):
You know, without going maybe too much, we can go
into as much as you like. How difficult is to
get people on side with things like this? Because I'm
imagining that, uh, yeah, they probably got a lot of
requests to do things for, um, you know, for different
charities or for different organizations, for different causes. It must
be a pretty competitive field out there to kind of
win the hearts and minds of athletes or people that
(08:03):
are profile.
S2 (08:04):
Yeah. And I think that's what's really been being wonderfully
surprising to me this year. As I mentioned, the appeal's
been going for 12 years and we've been gaining momentum.
And every single year, you know, fundraising is hard. Australian Australians, um,
you know, it can be difficult to day to day
living financial crisis. But I absolutely overwhelmed by the generosity
(08:26):
of Petbarn customers and our sporting stars who get on
board to make sure that we can raise the profile
not just to raise money. Obviously, raising money is a
very important part of it, but also just to make
sure that we're bringing awareness to the people in our
community who are blind or low vision because, you know,
it would be better if the world was more accessible,
(08:46):
you know, digital information not being accessible. There is some
really simple things we can do inclusion in, you know,
public transport, all those kind of things all add up
to making a better, more fulfilled life for those living
with vision loss.
S1 (09:02):
And the other thing is, I mean, I guess it's
the case in any sort of, uh, you know, kind of, uh,
area of disability. I mean, you know, people who might
be thinking, oh, yeah, whatever. But, I mean, you never
know how you or someone you love might be impacted tomorrow.
I mean, something can happen, and all of a sudden
you're kind of in that basket, if I can put
it that crudely. And you might be the sort of
(09:22):
person that or someone you love might be the sort
of person who might say, gee, you know, a seeing
eye dog could make a huge difference to me, having,
you know, lost my sight through whatever.
S2 (09:31):
Yeah. You know what, Peter? Before I took on this role,
I've been the foundation manager for a couple of years now.
And to be completely honest, when I had, I didn't
know anyone who was blind or had low vision. And
I have, you know, been lucky enough to meet some
of the most extraordinary people I have ever met, and
(09:52):
many of them have actually told me their stories about,
as you mentioned, just living a full sighted life and
then experiencing vision loss that has then ended in being blind.
And the adjustment that I can only imagine it takes.
When that happens in your life, you know it is significant.
(10:12):
And so that's one of the other things that we
try and make sure that we communicate through the appeal
is that, you know, this is not just people who
are necessarily born blind, but it's also the people that
are getting older. It's the people that we love. It's,
you know, these are brothers and sisters and sons and daughters,
that it can happen to anyone, which is why the
(10:34):
appeal is so important to get behind.
S1 (10:36):
But it's such a great point you make about not
knowing someone who might be blind or have low vision. Obviously, uh,
living with vision impairment myself and doing this program, I
kind of maybe sometimes forget that in a sense, I'm
in a bit of an echo chamber. I mean, I
kind of think, well, why don't people know about these
sort of things? But, you know, I guess unless you
encounter it for whatever reason. And in your case, it
(10:57):
was your work. I mean, we can't be expected to
know everything about everything. So it's something like this that
can sometimes just, you know, raise that awareness or, you know,
trigger that memory. I remember hearing about that on the
radio the other day that, you know, all of a
sudden people are a bit more aware of, um, either
fundraising and also the work that goes into it.
S2 (11:15):
Yeah. Yeah. You're you're absolutely right. And I think, you know,
because the foundation is lucky enough to have so many
customers that are dog lovers, pet lovers, um, you know, and,
and a database that actually can reach so many millions
of people across the country and also supported by the
Greencross vets, um, who are the vets of choice for Australia,
(11:39):
seeing eye dogs. It's all of those people, you know,
if we can just get our message just to those people,
that's millions of people who might learn a little bit
more about Vision Australia and the impact they make. And
then if they can just, you know, spare a couple
of dollars that will hopefully get us to our $1.1
million target.
S1 (11:59):
Great point you make about the vets, isn't it? Because
you know they are animals at the end of the day,
and they do need their care. They do need quote
unquote maintenance, don't they? And you know that the pet,
the vet, I should say, plays a huge role in
that sort of maintaining the the good health of the,
of the the seeing eye dog.
S2 (12:16):
Yeah, they they absolutely do. And the Greencross vets, they
obviously are extraordinary at what they do. I mean, vets
go into that industry. A lot of the time it
can be a really difficult practice to run. You know,
it's people sometimes end up at the vet with a
pet that they absolutely love that is in dire straits.
(12:37):
It's eating sock or whatever these whatever the whatever the
animal's done. But then there's also the other side of
it where they can take care of a client's dog. Really.
You know that obviously the seeing eye dogs are beautifully bred.
They're really well looked after. You know, they're on the
best Royal Canin food that they can get. There's you know,
they've got all of the support that they need to
(12:58):
make sure they're in in the best condition. And so
sometimes you know, when those dogs go in and they're
able to you have the privilege of servicing a seeing
eye dog. It's a really wonderful thing that can happen.
S1 (13:12):
It's a great point you make. And also, you know,
the the breeding is so important. I mean, that's come
such a long way. I know speaking to people involved
in this area, I mean, years ago, you know, there
was a lot of work that went into kind of
breeding racehorses to make sure that they were as good
as they can be. And I think some of those
lessons have been taken on by, you know, people that
breed seeing eye dogs as well, that the amount of
(13:33):
work that goes with it. I think I now plays
a much better role both I in I and also
artificial insemination. So there's a lot of stuff that goes
into that, uh, you know, that that puppy that comes
out and then the dog that goes out into the
world to, um, to make that difference.
S2 (13:49):
Yeah. Look, look, I know very limited around the genetics
of the dogs, but what I, what I do understand
is what you have said, I think that they are
breeding these dogs to be at the top, Very top
of their game. I mean, not just in terms of behavior,
but in terms of health as well. You know, like you, I,
I'm working for the foundation. I obviously I work with
(14:11):
rescue dogs as well. And you know, some of those
dogs from, um, some of the backyard predators, you can
really tell the difference between a dog that has been
potentially just bred with no thought about the genetics in
mind or whether or not it's, um, predisposition to like,
you know, other health concerns. But, you know, when you
(14:32):
see a seeing eye dog and the team are just
watching them so carefully, you can absolutely see the quality
that you get out of, you know, a $50,000 dog,
not just in health, but in behavior, in socialization and
all of those things that you need to make the
best seeing eye dog you can have.
S1 (14:51):
Great message. Do you know if people want to help out?
What's the best way to help out? As far as
this year's the 12th Pet Foundation, seeing Eye Dogs Australia
with Australia, their campaign. What's the best way people can
help out?
S2 (15:03):
You can go and visit a pet farm store. We
have a three, 5 or $10 seeing eye dog tag
that you can you can donate or donations over $2
are tax deductible. Or if you're not near a pet barn,
I really encourage you to jump online at petbarn. Dogs
and you can make a donation there.
S1 (15:24):
Alright, we'll put those details up with our Shownotes. Janelle,
congratulations on your award. Congratulations on your recognition. Thank you
for being involved for 12 years. May it go for many,
many more. And let's hope that you smash that $1.1
million target.
S2 (15:37):
Oh, thank you so much. I hope we do too. 100%
of the donations we collect will be given to Vision Australia,
so it's worth every donation. Thank you so much Janelle Miller.
S1 (15:46):
They're the CEO for the Pet Barn Foundation that appeal
on at the moment. All those details up with our
show notes. And as always, if you miss any details,
you can always give us a call here at the
radio station. 130847466.
What's a really big and important month for seeing Eye
Dogs Australia and indeed the Pet Foundation, as we, uh,
try and raise a few funds to raise a few
more seeing eye dogs. Let's chat about it with the
CEO for the Pet Barn Foundation, Janelle Miller. Great to
meet you. Thank you for your time.
S2 (00:30):
Thanks for having me, Peter.
S1 (00:31):
This is an important month, isn't it? It's an important time,
but I guess it's a very busy time in terms of, uh,
trying to raise the profile and raise funds.
S2 (00:39):
Yeah, absolutely. July is our annual Pet Barn Foundation seeing
eye dog appeal. We've been running it for the last
12 years now, and very proudly together with Vision Australia,
we've raised very close to $9 million, which is funded.
I know it's great and it's funded almost 200 dogs,
which we're hoping to crack that mark this year.
S1 (01:01):
Terrific. To $9 million. I mean, you know, without being silly,
that's a lot of money in anyone's language. So, uh,
you know, $9 million in 12 years. That's, uh, something
to really be very proud of.
S2 (01:11):
Yeah, we are really proud of it. It's the impact
that we can make for the blind and low vision
community that we're most proud of. We can really see
the hard work that goes into training these dogs and
the difference that it makes in people's lives.
S1 (01:23):
Now you're kind of going for over 1,000,000 in 1
year this year, aren't you? You're aiming at 1.1.
S2 (01:30):
We are. That's right. So this year our target is
$1.1 million. And that'll fund, with some luck, over 22
seeing eye dogs, which, you know, that's that's a lot
of dogs. It's a lot of people that could have
one of those amazingly trained companions by their side.
S1 (01:48):
22 as you say that that's, uh, you know, 50,000
each year. That exactly works out to exactly 1.1 million.
The quick math on the run, you know, which is
always dangerous. So, uh, well done on that. So, um,
in terms of, um, the work that they do or
the sort of benefits that they bring to people's independence
and quality of life. I mean, you know, we talk
about 50,000 for each dog, but you probably can't really
(02:10):
put a price on it when you look at it
from a quality of life or independence point of view.
S2 (02:14):
No. That's right. And I think what I love about
this appeal more than anything is that I've met a
lot of visionaries, Australia, clients that do have a seeing
eye dog and the freedom of life that they have
to live more independently to navigate through public spaces to achieve,
you know, the fullest life that they can live is
(02:37):
coupled up with a dog. You know, for those of
us that are pet lovers, having a dog by your
side 24 over seven, but a dog as well trained
as a seeing eye dog is, you know, we use
the word life changing, but I truly believe it is.
S1 (02:51):
A great point you make about being trained, because I
guess that's what a lot of the sort of effort
goes into, both financially and physical in terms of, uh,
or nearly two years of work before, um, from sort
of zero to, uh, the Seeing Eye dog and the
client being put together.
S2 (03:06):
Yeah. That's right. Well, they start training these beautiful puppies
really early, around eight weeks of age. And that's where
the puppies learn basic socialization skills. And they are obviously
supported by volunteer carers for the puppy development trainers. But,
you know, two years of specialised training before they're matched
up with their client is, you know, really remarkable. And
(03:28):
they learn over 40 different commands. So they're put to
hard work and they're really up for the job.
S1 (03:34):
Okay. That's interesting. Yes. That is about 40 commands. I
mean that's I don't think I know that many on
my computer. So obviously the dogs are much smarter than
I'll ever be. But on a serious note, of course,
the clients that Vision Australia and the get to seeing
eye dogs are or they get them. They're based all
over the country as well aren't they.
S2 (03:53):
Yeah that's right. This is a national appeal and the
vision Australia seeing eye dogs do help clients nationally.
S1 (03:59):
Which is a great thing because you know, often you know,
people in sort of more rural or remote areas. Yeah.
Get forgotten. But they live out in those areas. And
if they choose to live out there, either for family
and friends reasons, or just because that's the lifestyle they choose.
Then they still get the wonderful benefits of having the
the the seeing eye dog.
S2 (04:19):
Yeah, absolutely. Well, it's your vision. Australia estimates there are
over 453,000 people in Australia who are blind or have
low vision, and that number is projected to grow by
about 25% by 2030. So, you know, that's all over
the country. And so we need to make sure that,
as you said, the blind and low vision community are supported.
(04:42):
And that's why the Petbarn Foundation appeal is national.
S1 (04:45):
And that a growing number, I guess it's due to
all sorts of reasons. I mean, you know, sadly, in
a sense that ageing can impact upon your vision loss.
And I guess just, you know, different things that are
happening as far as the community goes and individuals goes,
you know, type two diabetes, uh, all that sort of stuff.
That all can be related to the fact that the,
(05:05):
the number of people who might be blind or have
low vision is increasing at a quite a rapid rate.
S2 (05:10):
Yeah. That's right. You know, we've got medicine. You know
that's it's developing better and better. And out of that
we live a longer life. But out of that as well,
some of those, as you've mentioned, type two diabetes and
aging population. That all adds up to, um, those statistics.
S1 (05:27):
They talked about how much you love what you do
and how much the foundation do. Working with Vision Australia,
you'll recognize an award. Uh, a couple or so years ago,
I was.
S2 (05:36):
That's right. You dug deep there. Yeah, I was recognized,
which I was very grateful for. Very humbled by. You know,
I actually I say a lot that working with Vision
Australia is one of my favorite appeals of the year.
And just because I absolutely, wholeheartedly believe that Vision Australia
and Seeing Eye Dogs is one of the best charities
(05:58):
in the country that deserve all the support they can get.
Just the difference they make in people's lives with the
dogs is, um, really is something close to my heart.
S1 (06:08):
Well, it certainly sounds like it. So what are some
of the things that you're doing? I know that there's, um,
you know, kind of a literally a team of people
that are helping as far as this particular campaign goes.
S2 (06:17):
Yeah. That's right. Well, this campaign we've actually just, um,
you know, as we've been going in the last 12 years,
it's been incredible, actually. We've we've got some sporting stars
on board as the campaign and the appeal continues to grow,
we've we're getting more profile and awareness around the appeal.
And so we've got for those of you who like NRL,
(06:38):
we've got the Cronulla Sharks that are on board. Uh
those of you who like soccer, we've got Melbourne Victory.
We've also got Collingwood Brownlow Medallist Tom Mitchell and former
Yeah Diamonds captain Caitlin Bassett. Um, who are joining us
to really just talk about, you know, the the comparison
between high quality athletes and the training that goes into
(06:59):
these dogs and, and what it takes to be the
very best at your game.
S1 (07:03):
That's an interesting, uh, sort of a comparison, isn't it? Because,
I mean, as you say, you know these athletes as
far as the, the, the human athletes, obviously trying really
hard to get to where they want to get to,
but the, the, the dogs work particularly hard. And I guess,
you know, without being unkind to our, uh, sporting friends
that there's a bit of, uh, cerebral, uh, work that
goes into the dogs as well as you touched on
(07:24):
earlier with the 40 commands.
S2 (07:25):
Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I think, you know, to be the
best at what you do, it takes consistency and training. And,
you know, I think, as you said, there is a
comparison there that, um, that those dogs are just as
wonderful as our top performing athletes.
S1 (07:41):
You know, without going maybe too much, we can go
into as much as you like. How difficult is to
get people on side with things like this? Because I'm
imagining that, uh, yeah, they probably got a lot of
requests to do things for, um, you know, for different
charities or for different organizations, for different causes. It must
be a pretty competitive field out there to kind of
win the hearts and minds of athletes or people that
(08:03):
are profile.
S2 (08:04):
Yeah. And I think that's what's really been being wonderfully
surprising to me this year. As I mentioned, the appeal's
been going for 12 years and we've been gaining momentum.
And every single year, you know, fundraising is hard. Australian Australians, um,
you know, it can be difficult to day to day
living financial crisis. But I absolutely overwhelmed by the generosity
(08:26):
of Petbarn customers and our sporting stars who get on
board to make sure that we can raise the profile
not just to raise money. Obviously, raising money is a
very important part of it, but also just to make
sure that we're bringing awareness to the people in our
community who are blind or low vision because, you know,
it would be better if the world was more accessible,
(08:46):
you know, digital information not being accessible. There is some
really simple things we can do inclusion in, you know,
public transport, all those kind of things all add up
to making a better, more fulfilled life for those living
with vision loss.
S1 (09:02):
And the other thing is, I mean, I guess it's
the case in any sort of, uh, you know, kind of, uh,
area of disability. I mean, you know, people who might
be thinking, oh, yeah, whatever. But, I mean, you never
know how you or someone you love might be impacted tomorrow.
I mean, something can happen, and all of a sudden
you're kind of in that basket, if I can put
it that crudely. And you might be the sort of
(09:22):
person that or someone you love might be the sort
of person who might say, gee, you know, a seeing
eye dog could make a huge difference to me, having,
you know, lost my sight through whatever.
S2 (09:31):
Yeah. You know what, Peter? Before I took on this role,
I've been the foundation manager for a couple of years now.
And to be completely honest, when I had, I didn't
know anyone who was blind or had low vision. And
I have, you know, been lucky enough to meet some
of the most extraordinary people I have ever met, and
(09:52):
many of them have actually told me their stories about,
as you mentioned, just living a full sighted life and
then experiencing vision loss that has then ended in being blind.
And the adjustment that I can only imagine it takes.
When that happens in your life, you know it is significant.
(10:12):
And so that's one of the other things that we
try and make sure that we communicate through the appeal
is that, you know, this is not just people who
are necessarily born blind, but it's also the people that
are getting older. It's the people that we love. It's,
you know, these are brothers and sisters and sons and daughters,
that it can happen to anyone, which is why the
(10:34):
appeal is so important to get behind.
S1 (10:36):
But it's such a great point you make about not
knowing someone who might be blind or have low vision. Obviously, uh,
living with vision impairment myself and doing this program, I
kind of maybe sometimes forget that in a sense, I'm
in a bit of an echo chamber. I mean, I
kind of think, well, why don't people know about these
sort of things? But, you know, I guess unless you
encounter it for whatever reason. And in your case, it
(10:57):
was your work. I mean, we can't be expected to
know everything about everything. So it's something like this that
can sometimes just, you know, raise that awareness or, you know,
trigger that memory. I remember hearing about that on the
radio the other day that, you know, all of a
sudden people are a bit more aware of, um, either
fundraising and also the work that goes into it.
S2 (11:15):
Yeah. Yeah. You're you're absolutely right. And I think, you know,
because the foundation is lucky enough to have so many
customers that are dog lovers, pet lovers, um, you know, and,
and a database that actually can reach so many millions
of people across the country and also supported by the
Greencross vets, um, who are the vets of choice for Australia,
(11:39):
seeing eye dogs. It's all of those people, you know,
if we can just get our message just to those people,
that's millions of people who might learn a little bit
more about Vision Australia and the impact they make. And
then if they can just, you know, spare a couple
of dollars that will hopefully get us to our $1.1
million target.
S1 (11:59):
Great point you make about the vets, isn't it? Because
you know they are animals at the end of the day,
and they do need their care. They do need quote
unquote maintenance, don't they? And you know that the pet,
the vet, I should say, plays a huge role in
that sort of maintaining the the good health of the,
of the the seeing eye dog.
S2 (12:16):
Yeah, they they absolutely do. And the Greencross vets, they
obviously are extraordinary at what they do. I mean, vets
go into that industry. A lot of the time it
can be a really difficult practice to run. You know,
it's people sometimes end up at the vet with a
pet that they absolutely love that is in dire straits.
(12:37):
It's eating sock or whatever these whatever the whatever the
animal's done. But then there's also the other side of
it where they can take care of a client's dog. Really.
You know that obviously the seeing eye dogs are beautifully bred.
They're really well looked after. You know, they're on the
best Royal Canin food that they can get. There's you know,
they've got all of the support that they need to
(12:58):
make sure they're in in the best condition. And so
sometimes you know, when those dogs go in and they're
able to you have the privilege of servicing a seeing
eye dog. It's a really wonderful thing that can happen.
S1 (13:12):
It's a great point you make. And also, you know,
the the breeding is so important. I mean, that's come
such a long way. I know speaking to people involved
in this area, I mean, years ago, you know, there
was a lot of work that went into kind of
breeding racehorses to make sure that they were as good
as they can be. And I think some of those
lessons have been taken on by, you know, people that
breed seeing eye dogs as well, that the amount of
(13:33):
work that goes with it. I think I now plays
a much better role both I in I and also
artificial insemination. So there's a lot of stuff that goes
into that, uh, you know, that that puppy that comes
out and then the dog that goes out into the
world to, um, to make that difference.
S2 (13:49):
Yeah. Look, look, I know very limited around the genetics
of the dogs, but what I, what I do understand
is what you have said, I think that they are
breeding these dogs to be at the top, Very top
of their game. I mean, not just in terms of behavior,
but in terms of health as well. You know, like you, I,
I'm working for the foundation. I obviously I work with
(14:11):
rescue dogs as well. And you know, some of those
dogs from, um, some of the backyard predators, you can
really tell the difference between a dog that has been
potentially just bred with no thought about the genetics in
mind or whether or not it's, um, predisposition to like,
you know, other health concerns. But, you know, when you
(14:32):
see a seeing eye dog and the team are just
watching them so carefully, you can absolutely see the quality
that you get out of, you know, a $50,000 dog,
not just in health, but in behavior, in socialization and
all of those things that you need to make the
best seeing eye dog you can have.
S1 (14:51):
Great message. Do you know if people want to help out?
What's the best way to help out? As far as
this year's the 12th Pet Foundation, seeing Eye Dogs Australia
with Australia, their campaign. What's the best way people can
help out?
S2 (15:03):
You can go and visit a pet farm store. We
have a three, 5 or $10 seeing eye dog tag
that you can you can donate or donations over $2
are tax deductible. Or if you're not near a pet barn,
I really encourage you to jump online at petbarn. Dogs
and you can make a donation there.
S1 (15:24):
Alright, we'll put those details up with our Shownotes. Janelle,
congratulations on your award. Congratulations on your recognition. Thank you
for being involved for 12 years. May it go for many,
many more. And let's hope that you smash that $1.1
million target.
S2 (15:37):
Oh, thank you so much. I hope we do too. 100%
of the donations we collect will be given to Vision Australia,
so it's worth every donation. Thank you so much Janelle Miller.
S1 (15:46):
They're the CEO for the Pet Barn Foundation that appeal
on at the moment. All those details up with our
show notes. And as always, if you miss any details,
you can always give us a call here at the
radio station. 130847466.
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