Seeing Eye Dogs Graduation: Jasmine Tevelein.

In this interview highlight, Seeing Eye Dogs Show presenter Harriet, speaks to Jasmine Tevelein.

On Wednesday September 18, 2024, the Seeing Eye Dogs celebrated 42 client and Seeing Eye Dogs teams who graduated in the 2023/2024 financial year including three grads from our Youth Program. Jasmine discusses outcomes with Harriet.

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Episode Transcript

S1 (00:04):
Hey, Jasmine, thank you for joining me on the show today.

S2 (00:08):
That's okay. Thank you for having me again.

S1 (00:10):
Great to have you back. Could you introduce yourself, please?

S2 (00:13):
Yeah. Um. I'm Jasmine. I was on in the Seeing
Eye dog youth program, and. Yeah.

S1 (00:22):
Could you please introduce your Seeing Eye dog and tell
us a little bit about, you know, him and how
long you've been working together?

S2 (00:28):
Yeah. Uh, so my seeing eye dog is Mikey. Um, he, uh,
not long turned two in, uh, August, and I got him.
How long now? Uh, I got him on the 29th
of April. So it's been a few months now, which

(00:51):
is really exciting. He's like a yellowy color. And he's
a big boy. He's. He's a really big boy.

S1 (00:59):
Are you tall?

S2 (01:01):
Yes.

S1 (01:02):
Sir. Okay, so it makes sense, really. It's not like,
you know, you're kind of a little short person, and.
And he's giant.

S2 (01:09):
He's Yeah. He's he's the perfect height for me.

S1 (01:14):
So what types of outings have you done with your
kiddos so far?

S2 (01:18):
So I've gone on the bus with him. Like I
go on the bus with him every two times a
week now. Um, and he comes to Melbourne when I
go to appointments, and he's really good with that. And
I do a lot more night walks with him because

(01:39):
I can't see at all in the night. So he's
he's really good with that. Um, and yeah.

S1 (01:48):
Was that something you kind of didn't do or avoided before?

S2 (01:51):
Uh, avoided it with my. I avoided it with a
passion with my cane. Um, and if I did, I walked, like,
super slow. But now, like, me and Mike are like,
we're like a rocket. We're, like, going.

S1 (02:08):
Maybe you could do it. But it wasn't comfortable and
it wasn't super fun. Whereas now it's kind of something
that you can do a bit more relaxed.

S2 (02:15):
Yeah, definitely.

S1 (02:17):
Do you guys go to school as well?

S2 (02:19):
Uh, no, but I do like a course. So we
take the bus to the place where we do the course. Yeah.

S1 (02:29):
So I guess thinking, thinking back, what made you decide
to start thinking about getting a seeing eye dog?

S2 (02:36):
Well, my mum had a guide dog, and it made
her so much more independent. And it's something that I've always, like,
wanted to do. Like, I had a cane since I
was like five. So I've had my cane for ages
and it still feels really weird, like not using my cane.

(02:59):
Knowing that mum had so much more independence made me
want to do that.

S1 (03:05):
I mean, I guess there's no kind of better testimonial
than having someone else, you know, in your life using one.

S2 (03:12):
Yeah, exactly. And then my brother also did have one,
and he's going for one as well.

S1 (03:19):
For you, I guess it means that you have a
bit more flexibility. Like. Yes.

S2 (03:25):
Yeah.

S1 (03:28):
So what was the youth program like and how did
it prepare you for having a seeing eye dog?

S2 (03:33):
Yeah. So the youth program, it was over a course
of a year, and we had zoom calls each month,
and we would talk about our orientation and mobility. And
then there was two camps, um, that we did, um,

(03:54):
throughout the year. Um, and each camp we got to
actually work with the Seeing Eye dog to like, just
walk with the dog and find out what it is
like to actually look after a living thing.

S1 (04:11):
Yeah, because it's not kind of like, you know, a
cane that you can fold away, is it? You know,
Mikey has needs.

S2 (04:17):
Yeah, exactly. Yeah, like it's a big responsibility to actually
look after a dog, even though, like, it can sound
like super easy. And then, like, since I've gotten it,
a lot of people have asked, oh, it must be
so easy now. You still got to train with the dog.
It's not like it comes trained with you. Well, it does,

(04:41):
but you still got to keep up that training.

S1 (04:44):
Yeah. And I guess it's one of those things as well.
You have to learn to work together too. It's not
just like he does all of the work, you know,
it's very much a partnership, isn't it?

S2 (04:52):
Yeah, exactly. It's like, um, people like, oh, how did
you know how to cross the road? And he doesn't.
I have to know how to cross the road. And
then he just guides me across the road and, you know,
and people are like, really? I was like, yeah, yeah.

S1 (05:07):
Yeah. It's not kind of like one person does all
of the work, or one person or one dog does
all of the work. It's very much like you have
to read each other in a different way.

S2 (05:16):
Exactly like he I, I have the tendency of accidentally
saying the wrong left or right, and then he just
knows that I've been the other one. He's like, it's okay,
I got you.

S1 (05:28):
Oh, it's nice that, um, I guess he can understand, um, because,
I mean, left and right being two of them, you know,
I guess more crucial, seeing other skills, it's pretty tricky. Yeah, yeah.

S2 (05:40):
Like I did, like the right footing, but the wrong word.

S1 (05:44):
Yeah. So does he go with your footing rather than
your words? Because he he doesn't trust your words as much.

S2 (05:50):
He does both like he, especially if he knows where
we're going because he has the schedule, like in our head, like,
oh yeah, we're going to like church. And he knows
the way. Um, he's like, uh, no, we're not turning
into a dead end. We're turning the right way.

S1 (06:05):
He's like, why would we go there? Why are you
telling me this? Yeah.

S2 (06:10):
Yeah. Sometimes he like, um, I feel him like looking
at me. He's like, why, why, why are we going
that way?

S1 (06:17):
It's like, um, I'm not sure you know where you're going.

S2 (06:20):
Yeah.

S1 (06:22):
So would you recommend taking part in the youth program?

S2 (06:25):
Yes. Definitely it. It just tells you whether or not
you are ready and whether or not you actually do
want to have a seeing eye dog as your mobility aid. Um,
because when I done it, there was a couple of
people that decided, oh, look, um, guide dog mobility isn't

(06:46):
for me. Um, and then there was other people that
were like, yes, this is for me. Um, and it
the people that run it, they're amazing. Oh, and Mike
is coming over. Um, and they're amazing. And they support
you throughout the whole thing. And even when I got Mikey,
they were still there supporting me. Yeah. Yeah. So it

(07:09):
is definitely the best, um, program to for you. Um,
especially if you're younger in the age bracket of these program,
to really find out whether or not you can do it.

S1 (07:24):
And I guess it's really good for someone to kind
of think about if they are a little bit on
the fence and like, will that actually fit in with
my life. Like you said, it's kind of. Some people decided. Yes.
Other people decided. Not now or not. Yeah.

S2 (07:37):
Yeah, exactly. And like they. The people that run it,
they supported you with whatever decision you made. Um, and. Yeah.

S1 (07:48):
So how for you. And I guess you kind of
probably touched on this a little bit, but how do
you think that having a sidekick has changed your life?

S2 (07:55):
Um, like a hundred times better. Um, it's it's really
amazing because, like you, you're not afraid to go out
side by yourself. Like, some people don't feel like that
with a cane. And some people feel hesitant with a cane.

(08:17):
But like with Mikey, I just feel like, oh, I
know I can do this, I know I can do that.
And like, he follows me around like a shadow. So
it's like you got a best friend as well. Um,
but it's such a good mobility aid and they're they're amazing.
They really are.

S1 (08:35):
Is there anything else that you would like to share
about either the youth program or having a seeing eye dog?

S2 (08:40):
Um, I just want to say, like if you are
thinking about these programs, just go for it because there's
nothing that you can lose. And if you do it,
there's heaps that you can gain as well. Um, and
don't be shy because they are amazing people that run
the program.

S1 (08:57):
Awesome. Well, thank you so much for coming on the show.
And please give Mikey a really big pat from not
just me, but also I'm sure all of the listeners
would agree that he probably.

S2 (09:06):
I will thank you for having me again.

S1 (09:16):
You've been listening to the Seeing Eye Dog show on
Vision Australia Radio. I hope you enjoyed my interviews with
Namoi Malcolm and Jasmine Sullivan. If you'd like to find
out about becoming a Seeing Eye dog handler, our friendly
team are on board to help people who are blind
or have low vision with their goals through dog eyed mobility.
And if you've considered becoming a handler with us, we're
happy to chat about your needs. You can email us

(09:38):
at info at. Or give us a call on 1800 037 773
to chat about eligibility or assessment, or for us to
answer any questions you have. If you're interested in the
youth program and you're aged 12 to 18, you can
head to Australia's Youth program or email at Brooks at

(10:04):
Vision Australia. Thank you for listening. And another very big
congratulations to our graduates for the year. Thank you for listening.
And don't forget to tune in. Same time next week
for another episode of The Seeing Eye Dog Show.

S3 (10:27):
Thanks for listening to this Vision Australia Radio podcast. Don't
forget to subscribe on your preferred podcast platform visit RVA
radio.org for more.

S4 (10:37):
Vision Australia radio. Blindness.

S5 (10:40):
Low vision.

S6 (10:41):
Opportunity.