March 5, 2025 • 31 mins
For our 2025 International Women's Day special, Harriet is joined by two guests:
Seeing Eye Dogs mobility instructor Mikaela Smith joins to chat about client services in New South Wales and Canberra and about the upcoming NSW ACT Roadshow. We talk about the support and process instructors work through with the client from assessment, training with the dog, throughout the team's career and up to retirement.
Handler Nicole Tillotson joins us to share her story and about her life with Seeing Eye Dog Trixie. She shares about her active hobbies, her work as a chaplain and travels with her dog. We also talk about International Women's Day and what that means to Nicole.
If you'd like to find out more about Seeing Eye Dogs head to our website: https://sed.visionaustralia.org/
The NSW/ACT Roadshow will be held in March with our team touring across Regional New South Wales and to Canberra, ACT. These events are open to all and free to attend. Email us now at SEDClients@visionaustralia.org to secure your spot or head to the NSW/ACT Roadshow article on SED website for more info. You can also email us at info@sed.org.au or call on 1800 037 773 to chat about dog guide mobility, eligibility or assessment.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S1 (00:10):
On Vision Australia radio. You're listening to the Seeing Eye
dog show. With me, your host, Eric Moffatt. I've got
a big one today for International Women's Day. We've got
two guests. I've got Michaela Smith, senior dogs instructor, talking
about New South Wales client services and the upcoming New
South Wales and Act Roadshow. And then I'm going to
be joined by seeing Eye Dogs handler Nicole Tillotson, talking
(00:32):
about her life partnership with Trixie and what International Women's
Day means to her. We've got some really lovely long interviews,
so let's jump in. I hope you enjoy.
S2 (00:49):
All right, Michaela, thank you for joining me on the show.
S3 (00:51):
Thank you for having me.
S2 (00:53):
Could you please start off by introducing yourself?
S3 (00:55):
I am one of two seeing Eye dog instructors that
are based in New South Wales. Um, we are based
on the Central Coast for about an hour north of Sydney,
and we cover pretty much the entire state. So we
go as far up as Tweed Heads, as far south
as Canberra and out west to Dubbo. The only area
(01:17):
we don't cover is down on the border. We have
one of our awesome instructors in Victoria that covers around
the Albury region.
S2 (01:24):
So what are the types of client services that you
provide across New South Wales and Act?
S3 (01:31):
Yeah, so we support clients at all stages of their
journey through senior mobility. So right from the initial enquiries
for people who are just wanting to find out more
about senior dog mobility and whether it might be right
for them. So we'll talk them through that process. We
also complete the assessments or initial applications for a seeing
(01:52):
eye dog. We also do the training with the dogs
and provide ongoing support throughout the life of the dog
and through to retirement as well.
S1 (02:00):
The class or the client training do you travel to
the client's location, or do they have to be based
in a particular region?
S3 (02:09):
Yeah, that's correct. We we do travel. So, um, anyone
from anywhere in New South Wales can apply for a
seeing eye dog. There's no limitation based on geographic location.
When you do train with a dog, there's a couple
of options that seeing eye dogs offer for how that
training takes place. One of those options is that you
do train from home, so if you're in New South Wales,
(02:29):
then one of the two instructors, myself or my colleague
will come out and we spend anywhere from 2 to
4 weeks with you doing that initial training program. We
generally see you every weekday for about two sessions a day. Um,
obviously it depends on your individual needs and your dog's
needs as well, but that'll be a 2 to 4
week training program for that initial training with the dog.
(02:53):
The other option that we do provide is we have
some residents down in Kensington, Victoria, which is where the
Seeing Eye Dogs HQ is. Um, so there is an
option for interstate clients, such as those in New South Wales,
or even in any of the other states or territories
around the country to go and do the initial training
in Melbourne. So you stay at the houses, you have
(03:13):
the dogs stay with you for the first two weeks
in that location, and you train with some of our
instructors down there. And then after the two weeks, you'll
fly back to your home. And if you're in New
South Wales again, one of the New South Wales instructors
will meet you at your home. And we do what's
called a post class. So we continue the training that
you've learned in Melbourne, but we tailor that to your
(03:34):
individual location, your area, your routes and your routines as well.
S1 (03:39):
I mean, it sounds like a quite busy time either option.
And is that just a personal choice of the of
the handler?
S3 (03:46):
Yeah, 100%. The reason that we've got the two options
is because we want you to do what's going to
work best for you. There's definitely benefits and sort of
downsides to both, but it's so individual. Some people need
to stay at home. They might have young children or
a routine that they can't go to Melbourne for two weeks,
which is absolutely fine. But we've got lots of clients
(04:06):
as well who really like to take the time to
just really focus on that initial training with the dog,
so it really benefits them to go to Melbourne. But yeah,
we are happy to provide support and talk you through
the different options and what might suit you best. But
at the end of the day, it's completely up to
the client which option is going to suit suit them
at the time.
S1 (04:25):
And when it comes to then having, you know, graduated
and being that independent team, what are the follow ups
that happen after that?
S3 (04:33):
The great thing is there's no limit to how much
follow up support you can get from seeing our instructors.
If you feel like you need to do additional training,
if you want to learn additional routes, and seeing our
dogs were organised for an instructor to come out and
see you when you first finished training. We do get
in contact quite a lot, so we'll do a bit
of phone support. If you need someone to come out
(04:53):
and visit and just do a face to face follow up,
then we'll do that as well. So we tend to
do that at the about. Sorry. About a week after
training finishes and then about a month in New South Wales,
we we like to see clients every six months as
a general rule, just to check in how everything's going.
But every 12 months is fine as well. Some clients
prefer that yearly follow up, but we do make sure
(05:14):
that we see clients every 12 months just to make
sure everything's going well. There's no bad habits forming, and
also to make sure the dogs are in a good welfare.
Good emotional state as well.
S1 (05:25):
So it actually sounds like you guys get quite a
lot of support or you give a lot of support,
I guess. And so in terms of like what the
client needs, you guys can kind of work on those
particular skills. And so when you then get to that
stage where you're starting to think about the dog getting older,
is the process kind of quite similar or, you know,
in terms of you guys just kind of work through
(05:46):
that process of the dog starting to transition or working
out what's the best, what's the next step?
S3 (05:52):
Yeah, absolutely. And that's something that's so individual as well. Um,
generally we say that our dogs usually retire between 8
and 10 years of age, but we definitely have dogs
that retire younger. Um, that could be because they're no
longer suiting the needs of the client behaviorally in terms
of their work. It could be a medical issue that
pops up, and we definitely also got dogs that work
(06:14):
much longer. So we have dogs that retire when they're 11, 12,
13 years of age. So it really just depends on
the dog and the client. And as long as the
dog's still meeting the needs of the client, keeping the
client safe and the dog's health and welfare is still, um, 100%,
then yeah, retirement is something we'll have a conversation with,
particularly when the dog is getting a little bit older
(06:36):
than each follow up. We tend to have that conversation,
see how things are going. If the instructor is noticing
that the dog is no longer meeting the needs of
the client. So maybe they're making a lot of errors
and the safety component isn't quite there, then we'll definitely
have that conversation about whether we start looking at retiring
(06:57):
the dog, or maybe start the process of applying for
a replacement dog. In saying that, in my experience, most
of the time the client is actually very aware of
these issues when we go out to see them. So
they'll be bringing up are my dogs, you know, no
longer walking as fast as I need them to. And
that's really common with age as well. The other thing,
(07:17):
of course, is a medical retirement. So it might be
actually a vet that brings up a concern with Labradors
and golden retrievers. Arthritis is quite a common condition as
they get older, so it might be that the vet
is noticing the arthritis and the dog is maybe not
walking so fast because they're in a bit of pain,
or they just physically can't keep up to the client's
(07:38):
needs anymore. But we do provide a lot of support
through that retirement. It's a really hard time for a
lot of our clients. Obviously, the dog has become a
part of their family. There's also a lot of options
on what that dog will do once they retire. So
the very first option is the client can adopt the
dog and it becomes a pet dog for them, and
(07:58):
they can absolutely go on and get a new seeing
eye dog and keep their retired dog as a pet.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. If they're unable to
keep the dog once it retires, and sometimes they've got
family or friends or neighbours or work colleagues that might
want to adopt the dog, so that's great as well.
If that's not suitable, then the puppy carer of the
(08:18):
dog will get offered the dog for adoption. I had
a great story of that that happened last year actually,
where the puppy carers adopted a 13 year old dog
who'd retired, so they hadn't seen that dog for 12 years. Wow.
And he's now living with them, which is very cute,
very full circle. And if that's not an option as well,
then we have public adoption, which is what we do
(08:39):
with a lot of our career change dogs. And we've
got a wonderful dog adoptions team that will look through
all of the applications and make sure we find an awesome,
really suitable home for that dog to support it through
its end of life.
S1 (08:52):
So it's a really kind of full circle, I guess,
journey that you guys work with, with any handlers. And
so I want to circle back to the very beginning
where you're talking about eligibility to some degree and like assessment.
So there's the New South Wales and Act Roadshow coming up.
If you want to sum up what some of the
things that some of the criteria for eligibility or why
(09:13):
someone might start to consider a seeing eye dog.
S3 (09:16):
So there's a lot of ways that people can find
out about seeing eye dogs. Sometimes it might be through
friends or family. It might be through advertising, it might
be through their eye specialist as well. So that's something
that anyone's been thinking about. Um, again, yeah. If you're
in New South Wales or the Act, we do have
the roadshow coming up in March where you can come
(09:36):
along and find out a lot more about, um, the
application process about a seeing eye dog. We'll also have
dogs there that you can take for a trial walk.
So to actually experience what it feels like to work
with a seeing eye dog because that's um, yeah, such
a unique feeling and something that can't really be described.
It's really great to have that experience. But yeah, in
(09:56):
terms of eligibility, there are a few different criteria. Some
of the ones that are really important. First of all,
that you are capable of looking after a dog. So
our dogs are labradors, golden retrievers or a cross. So
they're generally around 30 kilos. They require care, you know,
living breathing beings. So you've got to feed them twice
(10:17):
a day. You've got to toilet them, pick up after them,
take them out for walks. One of the big differences
between a seeing eye dog and a long cane is
that when you're finished with your long cane, you can
just fold it up and pop it in your bag
and forget about it. With a dog for the next
eight years, you absolutely can't do that. They're with you
all the time and they need that constant care and support.
(10:38):
So that's one criteria. Also making sure that you've got
a sufficient workload for a dog. So our dogs are
about 18 months of age when they are first placed
with the client. So they're young. They're Enthusiastic. They want
to get out and go for walks. They love the
work that they do, so they need to go to
clients that have a sufficient workload that do get out
(10:58):
of the house most days of the week. That's really
important for our dogs, of course. The spectrum. Um, some
of our dogs prefer a less of a workload, but
generally speaking, you want to be getting out 3 to
4 times a week. But we'll look at that on
a on a case by case basis.
S1 (11:17):
So I guess all of these things are something that
you could discuss with any anyone who has questions at
the roadshow.
S3 (11:24):
So coming to the roadshow doesn't mean that you're signing
up for a dog at all. It's just to talk
a little bit and get that process started. Answer any
questions that you might have. But yes, we have plenty
of time to go through all of this in much
more detail and to answer any specific questions as well.
The other thing I'll say to anyone who's not able
to come to the roadshow or who isn't in the area,
(11:46):
and you have questions, maybe you're not sure about applying
and you want to talk it through with an instructor.
It's getting contact with seeing eye dogs. So instructors are
very happy to have that conversation with you. Figure out
sort of whether you might meet our criteria or not,
or whether it's something for you now or in the future.
There's absolutely no pressure. Just give us a call and
we're very happy to have that chat.
S1 (12:07):
So is the New South Wales and Act Roadshow open
to all handlers or potential handlers?
S3 (12:14):
So anyone who's interested in finding out more is more
than welcome to attend. You could be a current dog
guide handler. It could be something that you see in
your near or your far future. You might be a
support worker, or a family or friend, or someone who's
looking at getting a seeing eye dog. Um, please come along.
We'd love to just have that conversation with you. And again,
for any clients that want to experience what it feels
(12:35):
like to actually walk a seeing eye dog and have
that experience walk, that will be an opportunity at all
of our roadshow locations as well. So we'd love to
meet you and have you along. But anyone interested in
attending is up on the Seeing Eye Dogs website. So
if you look up Seeing Eye Dogs New South Wales Roadshow,
that information will come up. But all of the sessions
run from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and the dates
(12:58):
are Monday the 10th of March at Port Macquarie. Tuesday
the 11th of March in Coffs Harbour. Wednesday the 12th
of March in Tweed Heads. Tuesday the 18th of March
in Canberra. Wednesday the 19th of March in Wollongong. Monday
the 24th of March in Gosford. And Tuesday the 25th
of March in Newcastle. And if anyone is interested in
(13:22):
attending and they'd like to register, you can do so
by emailing clients at Vision Australia. Org or if you
pop into your local office, they'll be able to organise
that registration for you as well. If.
S1 (13:41):
You've been listening to the Seeing Eye Dog show on
Vision Australia Radio, don't forget to head to that Seeing
Eye Dogs Idg's website at speedvision.org. For more information about
the New South Wales Act Roadshow. And now I've got
part two of this episode, and that is my interview
around International Women's Day and a Seeing Eye Dog partnership
profile story on Nicole Tillotson and her seeing eye dog, Trixie.
(14:04):
So we're going to talk about their life and their
partnership together. Thank you for listening and hope you enjoy. Hi, Nicole.
Thank you for joining me today.
S4 (14:11):
Hey, how are you, Harriet?
S1 (14:13):
Good. How are you?
S4 (14:15):
Well, thanks.
S1 (14:16):
Could you please start off by introducing yourself?
S4 (14:19):
My name is Nicole and I'm based in Sydney. I
live in a two dog, one human household, so the
odds are stacked against me.
S1 (14:28):
For a mutiny.
S4 (14:30):
Yeah. And I'm currently working full time. I work as
a chaplain in a hospital or multiple hospitals. And when
I'm not doing that, I love doing Pilates, running with Achilles,
or doing a park run.
S1 (14:47):
It's all very active stuff when you're not working. Could
you please introduce your seeing eye dog and tell us
also how long you've been working together?
S4 (14:55):
Yeah. So my seeing eye dog's name is Trixie, but
she was previously known as Vixen. The name didn't sort
of resonate with me, so I didn't. I just didn't
want to have conversations every day about that. And you
have lots of conversations every day on repeat about what
your dog's name is and all that sort of stuff.
And so I changed it to Trixie, which means joyful
(15:16):
or bringer of joy. Oh, I think that's it's really perfectly.
And she's named after a character on Call the Midwife
as well.
S1 (15:24):
Which is perfect for someone that works in hospital.
S4 (15:27):
Yeah, yeah, we have been together nearly one and a
half years and she will be three on March 23rd.
S1 (15:37):
So what made you decide to apply for a dog guide?
S4 (15:40):
I think it's just my preferred mode Of mobility aid,
I guess my preferred mobility aid. Um, I love the
independence and confidence that it brings. I feel for me that. Uh,
so I do have a little bit of vision, so
I'm legally blind. Um, probably have about 10% vision, I think.
So for me, a cane finds all the obstacles, it
(16:05):
finds all the things that are challenging and kind of
makes like, reinforces that into your brain, almost. Right, that
there are dangers out there, whereas tricks. She just takes
care of that. Like she doesn't find the obstacle, she
just works around it. And sometimes, you know, it's there
and sometimes you don't. But like, I implicitly trust her.
So that's not a problem at all.
S1 (16:26):
So how would you say that your life has changed
since being partnered with Trixie?
S4 (16:31):
It's just exponentially better. She's my second dog guide that
I've had. We call a version 2.0 because she's just
so amazing. She's like the most epic upgrade the things
that she can do. I was so surprised when I
was training in Melbourne with her, the things that she
knows and has capacity to do and her intuition, like
(16:51):
her preemptive sort of intuition kind of thing, is just incredible.
She she knows my needs before I need them a
bit like I cruise a lot and so on. Cruise lines,
they're like, we know your needs before you know, before
you can express them. That's what she is. She. She
gets me. Yeah.
S1 (17:08):
She's a cruiser.
S4 (17:09):
She. Well, yeah. We can come back to that. She
sure is.
S1 (17:13):
So I don't know if that would potentially kind of
lead into my next question, which was what are your
favorite things about her?
S4 (17:19):
Um, her love of coffee is one of the things.
I don't know what it is, but this this girl
knows all the places in Melbourne that have good coffee.
And when I was training, she would. If it was
not a great one, she wouldn't necessarily stop there. But
if there was a good one, she'd like stop and like,
nudge me like, do you want to go get a coffee?
(17:42):
Not today. Okay. Not today. And by not today, I
mean more like not this hour. But I love the
not today phrase, but later. Yeah. So an example of
one of the things I love about her is that
we were going to Melbourne for graduation. We went through
security and we walked down the steps and I was like, okay,
(18:04):
I need to just like stop for a second out
of the road to work out what gate I'm going to,
how I'm going to get there, all that sort of stuff.
And she's like, mum, it's 10 a.m., I got you.
You haven't had a coffee. Follow me. And so she
took me straight to the cafe, to the ordering point
no less, where there was no one there. There was
someone making coffees further down, but she took me straight
(18:26):
to like, this is where we need to go. I'm like, dude,
you get me?
S1 (18:31):
Not wrong. Yeah.
S4 (18:33):
It was like she was saying, this will just go
better for all parties concerned. If you tell me.
S1 (18:38):
You're a better handler to me if you're caffeinated.
S4 (18:41):
Decaffeinated, probably yes.
S1 (18:43):
It's kind of phenomenal as well. When they picked up
on something like that, I mean, when it's like the
pet store, then it's maybe slightly less ideal for you,
but better for them.
S4 (18:50):
Yeah, yeah. Oh, don't get me wrong, this one time
we went to Kmart just before graduation, I was picking
up some presents for the puppy raisers. They were like
these photo mugs that change. So you see the image. Anyway,
we got to Kmart. Didn't know where I was picking
them up from. And as I've asked the person where
(19:10):
I go to get them as soon as she said
like finished explaining, she's like, thank you. And Trixie's gone
off like a shot. And I'm like, I don't think
this is the way she's saying, buddy. And she took
me straight to the kids toys toy area.
S1 (19:24):
Oh, did she stuff toys?
S4 (19:27):
Which is one of the things I love about her.
Her love of stuffed toys is my other dog. I've
never had a dog that loves stuffed toys in at all,
and she is besotted with stuffed toys like her. Happy
place is like always having something in her mouth. And
if she doesn't have a toy, then her lead is
the substitute, basically.
S1 (19:46):
I see, so she's a baby at heart. Really?
S4 (19:48):
She really. She's the sweetest girl.
S1 (19:52):
So what is a kind of typical day in your life? Together?
S4 (19:56):
We change jobs. When we first started working together, I
was working in residential aged care. Um, and I loved
that job. But it was quite hard for Trixie because people,
a lot of the residents had cognitive issues that meant
they couldn't remember not to pat her, so she wasn't
working enough in the end, because she would end up
just loosely walking around. And I noticed how much happier
(20:20):
she was. She just loves to work this girl, you know?
So she was she was a bit bored. So now
we get to walk to work, which is great. So
we're about a 20 minute walk each direction. Yeah, we
we do a full day, which involves walking to. There's
multiple hospitals on the campus that I work at and
I go to, we go to multiple wards and basically
(20:42):
she guides me to the ward. But pretty much from
the moment I enter the ward, I take off her
harness and she just loose, loose leash walks at that
point because she does a bit of. Originally I was
calling it a side hustle, but given she doesn't get
any money out of it, it's more like volunteer work
as a supplementary pet therapy dog. There are.
S3 (21:00):
Specific.
S4 (21:01):
Pet therapy dogs on our campus, but yeah, she just
does a little bit of that on the side.
S1 (21:06):
And how does she go kind of flipping between work
and then her volunteer role as a therapy dog.
S4 (21:13):
Yeah. Look pretty seamless. She, she knows when she's in
her uniform. That's what I call her harness at work.
So she's pretty good. What can happen, though, is if
she sees someone she loves, which is typically a staff
member that she's had a lot of engagement with. If,
for example, we're in a lift and she sees them
and she's working, she might give them a sneaky little lick,
(21:34):
particularly on their feet or the back of their knee,
which is guaranteed to make them hit the roof. But yeah,
so she definitely gets it. And she gets as well
the different wards. It's almost like she has an emotional intelligence,
like an EQ kind of thing, where she can read
the room so she realizes the difference of different wards
and how active or energetic or goofy she can be,
(21:59):
if that makes sense. So she realizes, for example, when
we're in the intensive care unit, that she needs to
be very controlled in that space, but she also can
bring a ward round to an absolute standstill with the
consultants and all the doctors on the floor giving her
belly rubs. And then like a nurse being like, who's
had a fall, no one's had a fall. Trixie's here. Oh,
(22:20):
Trixie's here. And, you know, I sort of see it
as healthcare settings are really stressful, as is working in
aged care. And so if Trixie can give a little
bit of sunshine and positive engagement to the staff, then
the flow on effect is not just there for them,
but also for the patients and and others around when,
because it just helps them to decompress a little bit. Yeah.
S1 (22:43):
But it's not all work and no play. So what
travels have you been on together so far?
S4 (22:49):
We've done a few different things. I am a huge
fan of cruising. I find cruising is really relaxing and
she's a wonderful cruiser, so we have done two cruises
since I got her. She's a champ. I think she's
a little confused. Not in a like a stressful way,
but in a like. I don't quite understand what this
(23:10):
thing is that's moving on water. A bit like a train,
but has restaurants and stuff. But she loves it. She.
She just struts her stuff like she owns the place.
The last one we were on, she made great buddies
with the captain's two year old daughter. Oh, so that
was a little bit sweet. Nice. Yeah, she's she's great.
(23:31):
And she's really efficient at the toileting areas and things
like that. So the first cruise we went on, we
didn't even end up getting off. It was with my
brother and we just were hanging out having fun. So
it was too hot in Queensland at the time. And
the most recent one, we went back to Melbourne, but
unfortunately she didn't get to see her boyfriend. Um, I
(23:53):
know I feel really bad, but it was just a
bit of a tight schedule. So yeah.
S1 (23:58):
She guiding you around the ship, but then and then
just had some harness off time while you sit by
a sunbed.
S4 (24:05):
I call it a working holiday. A cruise is a
working holiday for Trixie because it's a change of scenery
and it is fun, but they are very long days,
so the rules are that they can't be left alone
in a state room or unattended and they can't go
by the pool. But then when you're in the cabin,
she can decompress and be off harness and stuff. The
second cruise we went on, my brother, who also has
(24:29):
a seeing eye dog, was there, and so they were
able to play tug and things like that, which is
just good for them to let off steam.
S1 (24:36):
And do they get on well?
S4 (24:38):
Oh my gosh. Yes. Yes. She and her cousin get
along famously. And the first time my brother left, his
dog's name is Walt. Uh, or was Yoshi. Um, but
the first time he left him was with me, so
I actually had three dogs from.
S1 (24:56):
Oh, my gosh.
S4 (24:57):
5 a.m. to 9 p.m. at night. It was like
a three ring circus. It was like whack a mole.
So like, you'd have a I was like, lying down
at one point and then one, two, three would all
pop up and be like, oh, are we are we
going to play? What are we doing? And I'm like, no,
I'm still reading my Kindle. I just turned over like,
calm your farm.
S1 (25:17):
Just one slight shuffle and they all domino effect. But
like instead of falling down, they get up pretty much.
S4 (25:22):
Yeah. So yeah. No, they they get along famously. Lots
of good fun and play both play or wrestle at
a similar level of Yeah. And that's just really nice
for them to be able to do that.
S1 (25:34):
So it is coming up to International Women's Day. Could
you tell me a bit about, you know, what inclusion
and International Women's Day means to you?
S4 (25:42):
Yeah, I think International Women's Day to me is a
chance to reflect on history and the gains that have
been made and the work that's left to be done,
and to be thankful for what has happened and the
people that were involved in making that happen, and a
chance to celebrate the achievements of women, I guess, in
a variety of different areas, whether it's academic, sporting, community, family,
(26:04):
whatever it might be.
S1 (26:05):
And are there any kind of challenges that you have
faced or you face specific to being a woman with
a disability?
S4 (26:11):
Yeah, that's a really great question, actually. So one of
the reasons why I prefer using a seeing eye dog
to a cane is actually, I don't feel terribly safe
living in Sydney overnight in the dark with a cane.
I can feel a bit like a walking target. And
so with Trixie, like she's not trained to be my
(26:33):
guard dog, but I just feel like if someone ever
tried anything, she would she would tell them off very
quickly in such a way that would probably shock them,
because her bark shocks me when it happens, because it's
so rare and big, and so I just feel really
confident and get to get out and about more in
the evenings in a way that I wouldn't with a cane. Yeah.
(26:56):
Or if I did, I would be very stressed and uncomfortable.
That's definitely the primary way I think that she's helpful there. Yeah.
S1 (27:06):
And do you have any messages for any women who
are blind or have low vision around Women's Day?
S4 (27:13):
Perhaps not so much around International Women's Day, but more
generally just to encourage them to do the best they
can do within whatever limitations they might have. Like as in,
give it a go, I guess is kind of where
I'm coming from in that you don't know until you
try something like, I didn't know I could do a
(27:34):
bunch of sport related, like exercise related things until I
did it. We're typically capable of more than we might
think we are. And like, I've had my vision impairment
all my life, so I don't know any different. But
perhaps as well, for people who've acquired vision loss, they
might not realize how much they are now, like they
might underestimate as well how much they actually can do.
(27:54):
So basically give it a go and just do your
best and see see where it lands. You take take
a healthy risk. You know, I was part of Achilles
group that did a 50 kilometer endurance event called Coast
Trek in 2050. Yeah, 50km in. And we like I
literally deep in my heart did not know if I
(28:16):
was going to be able to pull that off until
the moment I crossed the line. Like, that was just
such an epic challenge. That was what I was thinking
of when you were Yeah. Asking that question is that
until I tried that, I would never have thought that
I could have done that.
S1 (28:31):
Yeah.
S4 (28:32):
The fact that you gave it a try and you
just are determined. You got to know when to, as
my mom would say, you got to know when to
hold them and know when to fold them. But yeah,
as long as they're appropriate risks and pushing, it's really
healthy and good.
S1 (28:46):
Yeah, 50km might not be for everyone, but going on
A5K with your, um, you know.
S4 (28:53):
Achilles, those are really wonderful things.
S1 (28:56):
And just to finish off, do you have any other
messages for, you know, general public volunteers or supporters of
senior docs?
S4 (29:03):
I'm just so grateful to the people who raised Trix
as a pup, um, to make her the pup she
is today. Well, the dog she is today. Um, she's
just very sweet. One of my main nicknames for her
is sweetheart or Honey, because she is just very sweet.
And apparently she's the color of honey, so that's fun. Um,
(29:26):
so yeah, massive thanks to them and to like the
trainers and the instructors for teaching her not just how
to find coffee, um, but all the wonderful skills she has. Um, yeah. Like,
seat finding is not just a skill. It's a hobby
for her as well. She loves finding. That's why coffee
(29:47):
shops are great. She loves finding the door, the counter,
the seat.
S1 (29:51):
It's all of the targets that you could ever want.
S4 (29:53):
All the things. Times two. Yeah.
S1 (29:56):
Amazing.
S4 (29:57):
Yeah. Um, yeah. And I think just. I found it
really helpful just making enquiries. When I made an enquiries,
I was able to ask a lot of questions and
find out that this would be worth exploring. So I
guess if someone's not sure if a seeing eye dog is,
is a good mobility aid for them, and there's so
(30:21):
much more than a mobility aid. But if if they're curious,
I would encourage them to just ask questions and make
inquiries and check it out. Um, because yeah, she's so
much more than my mobility aid.
S1 (30:34):
Well, thank you so much for coming on the show
and sharing your story.
S4 (30:38):
No worries. Lovely to be here.
S1 (30:46):
You've been listening to these seeing auto show on Vision
Australia Radio. I hope you enjoyed my interviews with Nicole Tillotson.
Seeing eye dog handler to Trixie and Michaela Smith, Seeing
Eye Dogs instructor based in New South Wales, talking about
the New South Wales Act Roadshow and New South Wales
client services. If you'd like to find out more about
seeing Eye dogs, the work we do, becoming a handler
(31:06):
or getting involved, head to our website at said Dot
Vision Australia. Org. Thank you for listening and tune in.
Same time next week for another episode of our show
on Vision Australia Radio.
On Vision Australia radio. You're listening to the Seeing Eye
dog show. With me, your host, Eric Moffatt. I've got
a big one today for International Women's Day. We've got
two guests. I've got Michaela Smith, senior dogs instructor, talking
about New South Wales client services and the upcoming New
South Wales and Act Roadshow. And then I'm going to
be joined by seeing Eye Dogs handler Nicole Tillotson, talking
(00:32):
about her life partnership with Trixie and what International Women's
Day means to her. We've got some really lovely long interviews,
so let's jump in. I hope you enjoy.
S2 (00:49):
All right, Michaela, thank you for joining me on the show.
S3 (00:51):
Thank you for having me.
S2 (00:53):
Could you please start off by introducing yourself?
S3 (00:55):
I am one of two seeing Eye dog instructors that
are based in New South Wales. Um, we are based
on the Central Coast for about an hour north of Sydney,
and we cover pretty much the entire state. So we
go as far up as Tweed Heads, as far south
as Canberra and out west to Dubbo. The only area
(01:17):
we don't cover is down on the border. We have
one of our awesome instructors in Victoria that covers around
the Albury region.
S2 (01:24):
So what are the types of client services that you
provide across New South Wales and Act?
S3 (01:31):
Yeah, so we support clients at all stages of their
journey through senior mobility. So right from the initial enquiries
for people who are just wanting to find out more
about senior dog mobility and whether it might be right
for them. So we'll talk them through that process. We
also complete the assessments or initial applications for a seeing
(01:52):
eye dog. We also do the training with the dogs
and provide ongoing support throughout the life of the dog
and through to retirement as well.
S1 (02:00):
The class or the client training do you travel to
the client's location, or do they have to be based
in a particular region?
S3 (02:09):
Yeah, that's correct. We we do travel. So, um, anyone
from anywhere in New South Wales can apply for a
seeing eye dog. There's no limitation based on geographic location.
When you do train with a dog, there's a couple
of options that seeing eye dogs offer for how that
training takes place. One of those options is that you
do train from home, so if you're in New South Wales,
(02:29):
then one of the two instructors, myself or my colleague
will come out and we spend anywhere from 2 to
4 weeks with you doing that initial training program. We
generally see you every weekday for about two sessions a day. Um,
obviously it depends on your individual needs and your dog's
needs as well, but that'll be a 2 to 4
week training program for that initial training with the dog.
(02:53):
The other option that we do provide is we have
some residents down in Kensington, Victoria, which is where the
Seeing Eye Dogs HQ is. Um, so there is an
option for interstate clients, such as those in New South Wales,
or even in any of the other states or territories
around the country to go and do the initial training
in Melbourne. So you stay at the houses, you have
(03:13):
the dogs stay with you for the first two weeks
in that location, and you train with some of our
instructors down there. And then after the two weeks, you'll
fly back to your home. And if you're in New
South Wales again, one of the New South Wales instructors
will meet you at your home. And we do what's
called a post class. So we continue the training that
you've learned in Melbourne, but we tailor that to your
(03:34):
individual location, your area, your routes and your routines as well.
S1 (03:39):
I mean, it sounds like a quite busy time either option.
And is that just a personal choice of the of
the handler?
S3 (03:46):
Yeah, 100%. The reason that we've got the two options
is because we want you to do what's going to
work best for you. There's definitely benefits and sort of
downsides to both, but it's so individual. Some people need
to stay at home. They might have young children or
a routine that they can't go to Melbourne for two weeks,
which is absolutely fine. But we've got lots of clients
(04:06):
as well who really like to take the time to
just really focus on that initial training with the dog,
so it really benefits them to go to Melbourne. But yeah,
we are happy to provide support and talk you through
the different options and what might suit you best. But
at the end of the day, it's completely up to
the client which option is going to suit suit them
at the time.
S1 (04:25):
And when it comes to then having, you know, graduated
and being that independent team, what are the follow ups
that happen after that?
S3 (04:33):
The great thing is there's no limit to how much
follow up support you can get from seeing our instructors.
If you feel like you need to do additional training,
if you want to learn additional routes, and seeing our
dogs were organised for an instructor to come out and
see you when you first finished training. We do get
in contact quite a lot, so we'll do a bit
of phone support. If you need someone to come out
(04:53):
and visit and just do a face to face follow up,
then we'll do that as well. So we tend to
do that at the about. Sorry. About a week after
training finishes and then about a month in New South Wales,
we we like to see clients every six months as
a general rule, just to check in how everything's going.
But every 12 months is fine as well. Some clients
prefer that yearly follow up, but we do make sure
(05:14):
that we see clients every 12 months just to make
sure everything's going well. There's no bad habits forming, and
also to make sure the dogs are in a good welfare.
Good emotional state as well.
S1 (05:25):
So it actually sounds like you guys get quite a
lot of support or you give a lot of support,
I guess. And so in terms of like what the
client needs, you guys can kind of work on those
particular skills. And so when you then get to that
stage where you're starting to think about the dog getting older,
is the process kind of quite similar or, you know,
in terms of you guys just kind of work through
(05:46):
that process of the dog starting to transition or working
out what's the best, what's the next step?
S3 (05:52):
Yeah, absolutely. And that's something that's so individual as well. Um,
generally we say that our dogs usually retire between 8
and 10 years of age, but we definitely have dogs
that retire younger. Um, that could be because they're no
longer suiting the needs of the client behaviorally in terms
of their work. It could be a medical issue that
pops up, and we definitely also got dogs that work
(06:14):
much longer. So we have dogs that retire when they're 11, 12,
13 years of age. So it really just depends on
the dog and the client. And as long as the
dog's still meeting the needs of the client, keeping the
client safe and the dog's health and welfare is still, um, 100%,
then yeah, retirement is something we'll have a conversation with,
particularly when the dog is getting a little bit older
(06:36):
than each follow up. We tend to have that conversation,
see how things are going. If the instructor is noticing
that the dog is no longer meeting the needs of
the client. So maybe they're making a lot of errors
and the safety component isn't quite there, then we'll definitely
have that conversation about whether we start looking at retiring
(06:57):
the dog, or maybe start the process of applying for
a replacement dog. In saying that, in my experience, most
of the time the client is actually very aware of
these issues when we go out to see them. So
they'll be bringing up are my dogs, you know, no
longer walking as fast as I need them to. And
that's really common with age as well. The other thing,
(07:17):
of course, is a medical retirement. So it might be
actually a vet that brings up a concern with Labradors
and golden retrievers. Arthritis is quite a common condition as
they get older, so it might be that the vet
is noticing the arthritis and the dog is maybe not
walking so fast because they're in a bit of pain,
or they just physically can't keep up to the client's
(07:38):
needs anymore. But we do provide a lot of support
through that retirement. It's a really hard time for a
lot of our clients. Obviously, the dog has become a
part of their family. There's also a lot of options
on what that dog will do once they retire. So
the very first option is the client can adopt the
dog and it becomes a pet dog for them, and
(07:58):
they can absolutely go on and get a new seeing
eye dog and keep their retired dog as a pet.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. If they're unable to
keep the dog once it retires, and sometimes they've got
family or friends or neighbours or work colleagues that might
want to adopt the dog, so that's great as well.
If that's not suitable, then the puppy carer of the
(08:18):
dog will get offered the dog for adoption. I had
a great story of that that happened last year actually,
where the puppy carers adopted a 13 year old dog
who'd retired, so they hadn't seen that dog for 12 years. Wow.
And he's now living with them, which is very cute,
very full circle. And if that's not an option as well,
then we have public adoption, which is what we do
(08:39):
with a lot of our career change dogs. And we've
got a wonderful dog adoptions team that will look through
all of the applications and make sure we find an awesome,
really suitable home for that dog to support it through
its end of life.
S1 (08:52):
So it's a really kind of full circle, I guess,
journey that you guys work with, with any handlers. And
so I want to circle back to the very beginning
where you're talking about eligibility to some degree and like assessment.
So there's the New South Wales and Act Roadshow coming up.
If you want to sum up what some of the
things that some of the criteria for eligibility or why
(09:13):
someone might start to consider a seeing eye dog.
S3 (09:16):
So there's a lot of ways that people can find
out about seeing eye dogs. Sometimes it might be through
friends or family. It might be through advertising, it might
be through their eye specialist as well. So that's something
that anyone's been thinking about. Um, again, yeah. If you're
in New South Wales or the Act, we do have
the roadshow coming up in March where you can come
(09:36):
along and find out a lot more about, um, the
application process about a seeing eye dog. We'll also have
dogs there that you can take for a trial walk.
So to actually experience what it feels like to work
with a seeing eye dog because that's um, yeah, such
a unique feeling and something that can't really be described.
It's really great to have that experience. But yeah, in
(09:56):
terms of eligibility, there are a few different criteria. Some
of the ones that are really important. First of all,
that you are capable of looking after a dog. So
our dogs are labradors, golden retrievers or a cross. So
they're generally around 30 kilos. They require care, you know,
living breathing beings. So you've got to feed them twice
(10:17):
a day. You've got to toilet them, pick up after them,
take them out for walks. One of the big differences
between a seeing eye dog and a long cane is
that when you're finished with your long cane, you can
just fold it up and pop it in your bag
and forget about it. With a dog for the next
eight years, you absolutely can't do that. They're with you
all the time and they need that constant care and support.
(10:38):
So that's one criteria. Also making sure that you've got
a sufficient workload for a dog. So our dogs are
about 18 months of age when they are first placed
with the client. So they're young. They're Enthusiastic. They want
to get out and go for walks. They love the
work that they do, so they need to go to
clients that have a sufficient workload that do get out
(10:58):
of the house most days of the week. That's really
important for our dogs, of course. The spectrum. Um, some
of our dogs prefer a less of a workload, but
generally speaking, you want to be getting out 3 to
4 times a week. But we'll look at that on
a on a case by case basis.
S1 (11:17):
So I guess all of these things are something that
you could discuss with any anyone who has questions at
the roadshow.
S3 (11:24):
So coming to the roadshow doesn't mean that you're signing
up for a dog at all. It's just to talk
a little bit and get that process started. Answer any
questions that you might have. But yes, we have plenty
of time to go through all of this in much
more detail and to answer any specific questions as well.
The other thing I'll say to anyone who's not able
to come to the roadshow or who isn't in the area,
(11:46):
and you have questions, maybe you're not sure about applying
and you want to talk it through with an instructor.
It's getting contact with seeing eye dogs. So instructors are
very happy to have that conversation with you. Figure out
sort of whether you might meet our criteria or not,
or whether it's something for you now or in the future.
There's absolutely no pressure. Just give us a call and
we're very happy to have that chat.
S1 (12:07):
So is the New South Wales and Act Roadshow open
to all handlers or potential handlers?
S3 (12:14):
So anyone who's interested in finding out more is more
than welcome to attend. You could be a current dog
guide handler. It could be something that you see in
your near or your far future. You might be a
support worker, or a family or friend, or someone who's
looking at getting a seeing eye dog. Um, please come along.
We'd love to just have that conversation with you. And again,
for any clients that want to experience what it feels
(12:35):
like to actually walk a seeing eye dog and have
that experience walk, that will be an opportunity at all
of our roadshow locations as well. So we'd love to
meet you and have you along. But anyone interested in
attending is up on the Seeing Eye Dogs website. So
if you look up Seeing Eye Dogs New South Wales Roadshow,
that information will come up. But all of the sessions
run from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and the dates
(12:58):
are Monday the 10th of March at Port Macquarie. Tuesday
the 11th of March in Coffs Harbour. Wednesday the 12th
of March in Tweed Heads. Tuesday the 18th of March
in Canberra. Wednesday the 19th of March in Wollongong. Monday
the 24th of March in Gosford. And Tuesday the 25th
of March in Newcastle. And if anyone is interested in
(13:22):
attending and they'd like to register, you can do so
by emailing clients at Vision Australia. Org or if you
pop into your local office, they'll be able to organise
that registration for you as well. If.
S1 (13:41):
You've been listening to the Seeing Eye Dog show on
Vision Australia Radio, don't forget to head to that Seeing
Eye Dogs Idg's website at speedvision.org. For more information about
the New South Wales Act Roadshow. And now I've got
part two of this episode, and that is my interview
around International Women's Day and a Seeing Eye Dog partnership
profile story on Nicole Tillotson and her seeing eye dog, Trixie.
(14:04):
So we're going to talk about their life and their
partnership together. Thank you for listening and hope you enjoy. Hi, Nicole.
Thank you for joining me today.
S4 (14:11):
Hey, how are you, Harriet?
S1 (14:13):
Good. How are you?
S4 (14:15):
Well, thanks.
S1 (14:16):
Could you please start off by introducing yourself?
S4 (14:19):
My name is Nicole and I'm based in Sydney. I
live in a two dog, one human household, so the
odds are stacked against me.
S1 (14:28):
For a mutiny.
S4 (14:30):
Yeah. And I'm currently working full time. I work as
a chaplain in a hospital or multiple hospitals. And when
I'm not doing that, I love doing Pilates, running with Achilles,
or doing a park run.
S1 (14:47):
It's all very active stuff when you're not working. Could
you please introduce your seeing eye dog and tell us
also how long you've been working together?
S4 (14:55):
Yeah. So my seeing eye dog's name is Trixie, but
she was previously known as Vixen. The name didn't sort
of resonate with me, so I didn't. I just didn't
want to have conversations every day about that. And you
have lots of conversations every day on repeat about what
your dog's name is and all that sort of stuff.
And so I changed it to Trixie, which means joyful
(15:16):
or bringer of joy. Oh, I think that's it's really perfectly.
And she's named after a character on Call the Midwife
as well.
S1 (15:24):
Which is perfect for someone that works in hospital.
S4 (15:27):
Yeah, yeah, we have been together nearly one and a
half years and she will be three on March 23rd.
S1 (15:37):
So what made you decide to apply for a dog guide?
S4 (15:40):
I think it's just my preferred mode Of mobility aid,
I guess my preferred mobility aid. Um, I love the
independence and confidence that it brings. I feel for me that. Uh,
so I do have a little bit of vision, so
I'm legally blind. Um, probably have about 10% vision, I think.
So for me, a cane finds all the obstacles, it
(16:05):
finds all the things that are challenging and kind of
makes like, reinforces that into your brain, almost. Right, that
there are dangers out there, whereas tricks. She just takes
care of that. Like she doesn't find the obstacle, she
just works around it. And sometimes, you know, it's there
and sometimes you don't. But like, I implicitly trust her.
So that's not a problem at all.
S1 (16:26):
So how would you say that your life has changed
since being partnered with Trixie?
S4 (16:31):
It's just exponentially better. She's my second dog guide that
I've had. We call a version 2.0 because she's just
so amazing. She's like the most epic upgrade the things
that she can do. I was so surprised when I
was training in Melbourne with her, the things that she
knows and has capacity to do and her intuition, like
(16:51):
her preemptive sort of intuition kind of thing, is just incredible.
She she knows my needs before I need them a
bit like I cruise a lot and so on. Cruise lines,
they're like, we know your needs before you know, before
you can express them. That's what she is. She. She
gets me. Yeah.
S1 (17:08):
She's a cruiser.
S4 (17:09):
She. Well, yeah. We can come back to that. She
sure is.
S1 (17:13):
So I don't know if that would potentially kind of
lead into my next question, which was what are your
favorite things about her?
S4 (17:19):
Um, her love of coffee is one of the things.
I don't know what it is, but this this girl
knows all the places in Melbourne that have good coffee.
And when I was training, she would. If it was
not a great one, she wouldn't necessarily stop there. But
if there was a good one, she'd like stop and like,
nudge me like, do you want to go get a coffee?
(17:42):
Not today. Okay. Not today. And by not today, I
mean more like not this hour. But I love the
not today phrase, but later. Yeah. So an example of
one of the things I love about her is that
we were going to Melbourne for graduation. We went through
security and we walked down the steps and I was like, okay,
(18:04):
I need to just like stop for a second out
of the road to work out what gate I'm going to,
how I'm going to get there, all that sort of stuff.
And she's like, mum, it's 10 a.m., I got you.
You haven't had a coffee. Follow me. And so she
took me straight to the cafe, to the ordering point
no less, where there was no one there. There was
someone making coffees further down, but she took me straight
(18:26):
to like, this is where we need to go. I'm like, dude,
you get me?
S1 (18:31):
Not wrong. Yeah.
S4 (18:33):
It was like she was saying, this will just go
better for all parties concerned. If you tell me.
S1 (18:38):
You're a better handler to me if you're caffeinated.
S4 (18:41):
Decaffeinated, probably yes.
S1 (18:43):
It's kind of phenomenal as well. When they picked up
on something like that, I mean, when it's like the
pet store, then it's maybe slightly less ideal for you,
but better for them.
S4 (18:50):
Yeah, yeah. Oh, don't get me wrong, this one time
we went to Kmart just before graduation, I was picking
up some presents for the puppy raisers. They were like
these photo mugs that change. So you see the image. Anyway,
we got to Kmart. Didn't know where I was picking
them up from. And as I've asked the person where
(19:10):
I go to get them as soon as she said
like finished explaining, she's like, thank you. And Trixie's gone
off like a shot. And I'm like, I don't think
this is the way she's saying, buddy. And she took
me straight to the kids toys toy area.
S1 (19:24):
Oh, did she stuff toys?
S4 (19:27):
Which is one of the things I love about her.
Her love of stuffed toys is my other dog. I've
never had a dog that loves stuffed toys in at all,
and she is besotted with stuffed toys like her. Happy
place is like always having something in her mouth. And
if she doesn't have a toy, then her lead is
the substitute, basically.
S1 (19:46):
I see, so she's a baby at heart. Really?
S4 (19:48):
She really. She's the sweetest girl.
S1 (19:52):
So what is a kind of typical day in your life? Together?
S4 (19:56):
We change jobs. When we first started working together, I
was working in residential aged care. Um, and I loved
that job. But it was quite hard for Trixie because people,
a lot of the residents had cognitive issues that meant
they couldn't remember not to pat her, so she wasn't
working enough in the end, because she would end up
just loosely walking around. And I noticed how much happier
(20:20):
she was. She just loves to work this girl, you know?
So she was she was a bit bored. So now
we get to walk to work, which is great. So
we're about a 20 minute walk each direction. Yeah, we
we do a full day, which involves walking to. There's
multiple hospitals on the campus that I work at and
I go to, we go to multiple wards and basically
(20:42):
she guides me to the ward. But pretty much from
the moment I enter the ward, I take off her
harness and she just loose, loose leash walks at that
point because she does a bit of. Originally I was
calling it a side hustle, but given she doesn't get
any money out of it, it's more like volunteer work
as a supplementary pet therapy dog. There are.
S3 (21:00):
Specific.
S4 (21:01):
Pet therapy dogs on our campus, but yeah, she just
does a little bit of that on the side.
S1 (21:06):
And how does she go kind of flipping between work
and then her volunteer role as a therapy dog.
S4 (21:13):
Yeah. Look pretty seamless. She, she knows when she's in
her uniform. That's what I call her harness at work.
So she's pretty good. What can happen, though, is if
she sees someone she loves, which is typically a staff
member that she's had a lot of engagement with. If,
for example, we're in a lift and she sees them
and she's working, she might give them a sneaky little lick,
(21:34):
particularly on their feet or the back of their knee,
which is guaranteed to make them hit the roof. But yeah,
so she definitely gets it. And she gets as well
the different wards. It's almost like she has an emotional intelligence,
like an EQ kind of thing, where she can read
the room so she realizes the difference of different wards
and how active or energetic or goofy she can be,
(21:59):
if that makes sense. So she realizes, for example, when
we're in the intensive care unit, that she needs to
be very controlled in that space, but she also can
bring a ward round to an absolute standstill with the
consultants and all the doctors on the floor giving her
belly rubs. And then like a nurse being like, who's
had a fall, no one's had a fall. Trixie's here. Oh,
(22:20):
Trixie's here. And, you know, I sort of see it
as healthcare settings are really stressful, as is working in
aged care. And so if Trixie can give a little
bit of sunshine and positive engagement to the staff, then
the flow on effect is not just there for them,
but also for the patients and and others around when,
because it just helps them to decompress a little bit. Yeah.
S1 (22:43):
But it's not all work and no play. So what
travels have you been on together so far?
S4 (22:49):
We've done a few different things. I am a huge
fan of cruising. I find cruising is really relaxing and
she's a wonderful cruiser, so we have done two cruises
since I got her. She's a champ. I think she's
a little confused. Not in a like a stressful way,
but in a like. I don't quite understand what this
(23:10):
thing is that's moving on water. A bit like a train,
but has restaurants and stuff. But she loves it. She.
She just struts her stuff like she owns the place.
The last one we were on, she made great buddies
with the captain's two year old daughter. Oh, so that
was a little bit sweet. Nice. Yeah, she's she's great.
(23:31):
And she's really efficient at the toileting areas and things
like that. So the first cruise we went on, we
didn't even end up getting off. It was with my
brother and we just were hanging out having fun. So
it was too hot in Queensland at the time. And
the most recent one, we went back to Melbourne, but
unfortunately she didn't get to see her boyfriend. Um, I
(23:53):
know I feel really bad, but it was just a
bit of a tight schedule. So yeah.
S1 (23:58):
She guiding you around the ship, but then and then
just had some harness off time while you sit by
a sunbed.
S4 (24:05):
I call it a working holiday. A cruise is a
working holiday for Trixie because it's a change of scenery
and it is fun, but they are very long days,
so the rules are that they can't be left alone
in a state room or unattended and they can't go
by the pool. But then when you're in the cabin,
she can decompress and be off harness and stuff. The
second cruise we went on, my brother, who also has
(24:29):
a seeing eye dog, was there, and so they were
able to play tug and things like that, which is
just good for them to let off steam.
S1 (24:36):
And do they get on well?
S4 (24:38):
Oh my gosh. Yes. Yes. She and her cousin get
along famously. And the first time my brother left, his
dog's name is Walt. Uh, or was Yoshi. Um, but
the first time he left him was with me, so
I actually had three dogs from.
S1 (24:56):
Oh, my gosh.
S4 (24:57):
5 a.m. to 9 p.m. at night. It was like
a three ring circus. It was like whack a mole.
So like, you'd have a I was like, lying down
at one point and then one, two, three would all
pop up and be like, oh, are we are we
going to play? What are we doing? And I'm like, no,
I'm still reading my Kindle. I just turned over like,
calm your farm.
S1 (25:17):
Just one slight shuffle and they all domino effect. But
like instead of falling down, they get up pretty much.
S4 (25:22):
Yeah. So yeah. No, they they get along famously. Lots
of good fun and play both play or wrestle at
a similar level of Yeah. And that's just really nice
for them to be able to do that.
S1 (25:34):
So it is coming up to International Women's Day. Could
you tell me a bit about, you know, what inclusion
and International Women's Day means to you?
S4 (25:42):
Yeah, I think International Women's Day to me is a
chance to reflect on history and the gains that have
been made and the work that's left to be done,
and to be thankful for what has happened and the
people that were involved in making that happen, and a
chance to celebrate the achievements of women, I guess, in
a variety of different areas, whether it's academic, sporting, community, family,
(26:04):
whatever it might be.
S1 (26:05):
And are there any kind of challenges that you have
faced or you face specific to being a woman with
a disability?
S4 (26:11):
Yeah, that's a really great question, actually. So one of
the reasons why I prefer using a seeing eye dog
to a cane is actually, I don't feel terribly safe
living in Sydney overnight in the dark with a cane.
I can feel a bit like a walking target. And
so with Trixie, like she's not trained to be my
(26:33):
guard dog, but I just feel like if someone ever
tried anything, she would she would tell them off very
quickly in such a way that would probably shock them,
because her bark shocks me when it happens, because it's
so rare and big, and so I just feel really
confident and get to get out and about more in
the evenings in a way that I wouldn't with a cane. Yeah.
(26:56):
Or if I did, I would be very stressed and uncomfortable.
That's definitely the primary way I think that she's helpful there. Yeah.
S1 (27:06):
And do you have any messages for any women who
are blind or have low vision around Women's Day?
S4 (27:13):
Perhaps not so much around International Women's Day, but more
generally just to encourage them to do the best they
can do within whatever limitations they might have. Like as in,
give it a go, I guess is kind of where
I'm coming from in that you don't know until you
try something like, I didn't know I could do a
(27:34):
bunch of sport related, like exercise related things until I
did it. We're typically capable of more than we might
think we are. And like, I've had my vision impairment
all my life, so I don't know any different. But
perhaps as well, for people who've acquired vision loss, they
might not realize how much they are now, like they
might underestimate as well how much they actually can do.
(27:54):
So basically give it a go and just do your
best and see see where it lands. You take take
a healthy risk. You know, I was part of Achilles
group that did a 50 kilometer endurance event called Coast
Trek in 2050. Yeah, 50km in. And we like I
literally deep in my heart did not know if I
(28:16):
was going to be able to pull that off until
the moment I crossed the line. Like, that was just
such an epic challenge. That was what I was thinking
of when you were Yeah. Asking that question is that
until I tried that, I would never have thought that
I could have done that.
S1 (28:31):
Yeah.
S4 (28:32):
The fact that you gave it a try and you
just are determined. You got to know when to, as
my mom would say, you got to know when to
hold them and know when to fold them. But yeah,
as long as they're appropriate risks and pushing, it's really
healthy and good.
S1 (28:46):
Yeah, 50km might not be for everyone, but going on
A5K with your, um, you know.
S4 (28:53):
Achilles, those are really wonderful things.
S1 (28:56):
And just to finish off, do you have any other
messages for, you know, general public volunteers or supporters of
senior docs?
S4 (29:03):
I'm just so grateful to the people who raised Trix
as a pup, um, to make her the pup she
is today. Well, the dog she is today. Um, she's
just very sweet. One of my main nicknames for her
is sweetheart or Honey, because she is just very sweet.
And apparently she's the color of honey, so that's fun. Um,
(29:26):
so yeah, massive thanks to them and to like the
trainers and the instructors for teaching her not just how
to find coffee, um, but all the wonderful skills she has. Um, yeah. Like,
seat finding is not just a skill. It's a hobby
for her as well. She loves finding. That's why coffee
(29:47):
shops are great. She loves finding the door, the counter,
the seat.
S1 (29:51):
It's all of the targets that you could ever want.
S4 (29:53):
All the things. Times two. Yeah.
S1 (29:56):
Amazing.
S4 (29:57):
Yeah. Um, yeah. And I think just. I found it
really helpful just making enquiries. When I made an enquiries,
I was able to ask a lot of questions and
find out that this would be worth exploring. So I
guess if someone's not sure if a seeing eye dog is,
is a good mobility aid for them, and there's so
(30:21):
much more than a mobility aid. But if if they're curious,
I would encourage them to just ask questions and make
inquiries and check it out. Um, because yeah, she's so
much more than my mobility aid.
S1 (30:34):
Well, thank you so much for coming on the show
and sharing your story.
S4 (30:38):
No worries. Lovely to be here.
S1 (30:46):
You've been listening to these seeing auto show on Vision
Australia Radio. I hope you enjoyed my interviews with Nicole Tillotson.
Seeing eye dog handler to Trixie and Michaela Smith, Seeing
Eye Dogs instructor based in New South Wales, talking about
the New South Wales Act Roadshow and New South Wales
client services. If you'd like to find out more about
seeing Eye dogs, the work we do, becoming a handler
(31:06):
or getting involved, head to our website at said Dot
Vision Australia. Org. Thank you for listening and tune in.
Same time next week for another episode of our show
on Vision Australia Radio.
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