October 14, 2025 • 27 mins
On this episode of the Seeing Eye Dogs Show, Harriet is joined by Perth-based Seeing Eye Dogs Instructor Matt Wood. We're going to chat about Matt's background, his story and how he works with and supports clients across Western Australia. He'll also share tips for clients working with him and navigating life with a dog guide.
If you'd like to find out more about Seeing Eye Dogs head to our website: https://sed.visionaustralia.org/
If you're blind or have low vision and are interested in becoming a handler or applying for a Seeing Eye Dog, please email us at info@sed.org.au or call on 1800 037 773 to discuss dog guide mobility, eligibility or assessment.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S1 (00:29):
On Vision Australia Radio. You're listening to the Seeing Eye
dog show with me, your host, Harriet Moffat. Today we're
going to hear from our Perth and Western Australian Seeing
Eye Dogs instructor, Matt Wood, about his life. His story
and client services in Western Australia are seeing eye dog
handlers receive support and training from instructors after graduation to
(00:50):
help support the team through any changes or challenges that
might come their way. Orientation in new areas through life
transitions like retirement, or even just teaching new skills to
fine tune the work to the client's life. Keep listening
to hear about Matt Wood and seeing Eye Dog Mobility
in Perth. And don't forget that you can chat to
our friendly team about whether a seeing eye dog is
(01:11):
right for you, if you're blind or have low vision
and are considering dog guide mobility. Now here's my interview
with Matt. Hi Matt, thanks for joining me on the
show today.
S2 (01:27):
Thanks, Harriet. It's a pleasure to be here. Thank you
for inviting me on.
S3 (01:31):
Could you please start off by introducing yourself?
S2 (01:34):
Yes. Glad to. Um, I'm Matt Wood, I'm a senior
dog mobility instructor. I work with Vision Australia as a
seeing eye dog instructor in Perth, Western Australia, and I
have been here now for over three years. I work with, um,
all of the dog handlers that are here in Perth,
and I've even been asked, um, occasionally to do programs over,
(01:57):
over East as well. So at the moment we've got
well over 30 working units and teams in Western Australia,
so they keep me fairly busy from Monday to Friday.
So yeah, I'm full time here in Perth.
S3 (02:10):
Is it quite spread out or is it pretty much
everyone's in Perth.
S2 (02:13):
Uh, we have a couple down south. Generally, because of
the climate in Western Australia, it's quite warm and, um,
usually not very dog friendly. Uh, further north of Perth. Um,
I would love to have, you know, it's quite possible
to have a dog in Geraldton. Um, we had almost
had a client there a little while ago. Um, but, yeah,
(02:35):
most of the clients are in and around Perth. Uh,
and as I said, a few south and southwest, the
southwest corner of Western Australia is is beautiful. Um, but yeah.
And Perth being Perth, it's the longest capital city I
believe in, in the world. Uh, as well as being
the most remote, it runs up and down the coastline.
So it's quite the trek to go from north to south.
(02:57):
And it's it's relatively narrow as well.
S3 (03:01):
Yeah. I was just thinking, like, if you're kind of
supporting all of your clients, you kind of hope that
they're not, uh, top to bottom of Western Australia because
you have quite a lot of ground to cover. But, um,
even Perth itself might be pretty big.
S2 (03:11):
Yes it is.
S3 (03:13):
So what is your background in this industry?
S2 (03:17):
I've been working with people with vision impairment since 2010. Um,
prior to that, I was a primary school teacher and
a colleague who, um, encouraged me to escape the classroom. But, um,
it's like the old saying, you can take the teacher
out of the classroom, but you can't take the classroom
out of the teacher. So I was able to bring
across a whole lot of skills as far as teaching
(03:39):
and working with people, with the teaching skills that I
developed over those years. And in 2010, I began as
an orientation and mobility instructor in, um, in New South Wales, um,
with another organization and worked with a lot of clients
in country New South Wales. And the more I worked
with those people, um, and I had no intention of
(04:01):
being anywhere near dogs. Of course, working with people in
this industry, you come across all sorts. And I would
inevitably come across people that used a dog and I
started to get an interest in how does this work?
There's a bit of magic going on here. And as
it turned out, there were several changes in my local
(04:22):
regional office and the dog instructors suddenly went down to zero.
And I kept badgering my manager and said, we need
another dog instructor in our region. And yeah, he very
kindly supported my application. And that organization supported me to
to do the dog training in Sydney. Yeah. So I've
completed that in 2015. So I'm over ten years now
(04:43):
working with dogs and people with vision impairment. And as
I said, over three years here now in Perth with
all the Vision Australia clients that use us over here
in Perth.
S1 (04:53):
I think it's kind of amazing because you think, I
think a lot of people would probably assume that, you know,
instructor comes from, you know, I've always loved dogs and
a dog person, whereas I think it's kind of not
everyone considers that, you know, you've come from like actually
probably one of the most people iest jobs that there
is teaching. um, into working with more people.
S2 (05:13):
Yeah. And it's it's such a transfer over between problem solving, um,
sharing those problems and working with those problems together, whether
it's with children or with parents. And now it's with
the client trying to build a rapport and work out
what it is that we can get this dog to do,
and coax the dog and train the dog and, um,
(05:34):
work with the dog and then work with the client
so that the, the team becomes the team. So it
is it's constantly changing. And of course, every dog is different.
Every human is different. Um, and, and our needs and
our energy changes every day. But of course, every environment
is different as well. So, um, you know, we know
(05:55):
if we're drivers, uh, every time we're on a road,
we think, oh, I know this road. But then suddenly
it can change very quickly. And it's the same with
vision impairment. You know, you can be very familiar going
down a street day in and day out. And then
suddenly there's an obstacle there, or there's construction going on.
And you think, hang on, I'm out of my comfort zone.
(06:16):
How do I get around this? So, yeah.
S1 (06:19):
So I guess that kind of maybe leads into a
little bit of, like what? You know, what do you
do in the role and what is a day like
in your life as an instructor? So kind of how
you work.
S2 (06:30):
Yes. Yeah. Every day is different. And unfortunately today has
been a fairly boring day. I've been sitting in front
of a laptop doing, uh, an application for a new dog,
for a new client, their first dog. So there's a
lot of paperwork involved with that. But, um, you know, ideally,
the best days that I look forward to are training
(06:51):
days when, um, we've started with a new dog, and
whether it's an experienced client that's had 1 or 2
or multiple dogs before or a brand new client. Um,
so yeah, we call that a training class. And everybody that's,
that's got a dog that's listening to this will remember
day one of that training class with their brand new dog.
(07:11):
And as I say, every day is different. And then
there are some days that are very different and not
the most pleasant days to have. And there will be
people here with a dog sitting beside them listening to this,
and they'll be nodding to themselves. So we've all had
that day. I used to dread those days as a
young instructor, and now I almost. I don't look forward
(07:34):
to them, but when they come, it's like, yes, we
have hit rock bottom and a lot of clients that
don't know me say, what is wrong with you? I'm,
you know, I'm falling apart. This is not working. I
can't get the dog to do what I want the
dog to do. And the dog's not, you know, this,
that and the other. And I say this. Okay. One question.
(07:56):
Do you want to keep going, or do you want
to go back to day one with a brand new dog?
And every single person that's come to that rock bottom says, no,
I love my dog. We've got a good things going
on here that are really good. I don't want to
give up. I don't want to go back to day
one because, um, yeah, it means starting from scratch every day.
As I said, every dog is different. So you think
(08:18):
I'm just starting to work this dog out? We've got
a bit of a problem here we are. We going
to keep working on it? Yes, we will. And let's
solve this because everybody's been in this situation and a
lot of, you know, first timers don't realize that too.
So um, if you're thinking about if you're listening to
this and you're thinking about getting a dog, um, yeah,
there will be tough days, but, um, it just means
(08:41):
working through, battling on, um, sticking with the positives because every,
every day will have a positive of some sort. Um,
and the dogs always they, our dogs come with unconditional love.
So they want to they want to do the right thing.
We want to do the right thing for everybody. So, um, yeah,
those days are very tricky and very interesting. Um, and
(09:05):
as I said, just about I think just every single
person that's, come to that. That crunch day suddenly goes, yep. Okay,
let's let's what do we do? And we'll work on
the way out of that. That rock bottom hole. Um,
so they're the challenging ones. And then there's, you know,
the other days that I have touching base with people
that are well experienced, um, that have got a minor
(09:27):
problem or a follow up. We'll just touch base. How's
everything going? Everything's great. Let's just check. How's the health
of the dog? How are you going? Anything in particular?
So they're positive and good fun days, too. Um, but. Yeah.
So it's like everything. Yeah, there are good days and
there are bad days, or there are tricky days, as
I say. So, um, and the beauty with this job
(09:48):
is that we have to make ourselves redundant. We want
to make our clients independent. So if my client is
still ringing up every day or every week and saying, oh,
what do I do for this? What do I do
for that? Um, six months, nine months, 12 months later,
you know, every day or whatever. Um, I haven't done
my job properly, I've got to be able to give
(10:09):
them that skill and that confidence to go out there independently.
S1 (10:13):
And I guess that's where you kind of have said about,
you know, so much of it is problem solving. And
it's like if there's a challenge, you need to get
over it for the sake of kind of like resolving it,
I guess, rather than band aid each thing.
S2 (10:25):
Yeah, yeah. What, what what can we do with this dog?
What what are the skills that this dog has got
that we can tap into. And what's your experience in
these situations that we can tap into? How can we
approach it a different way if whatever we're doing is
giving us that outcome that we don't necessarily want, what
can we do to change that? What do we what
(10:46):
do we need to mix up in there? Um, yeah.
S1 (10:52):
So that might kind of lead on to, you know,
what are your favorite things about being an instructor?
S2 (10:58):
Yeah. Solving those problems. Uh, and, and hearing that that we,
you know, we as in, you know, seeing our dog instructors, um,
have made a difference for people. Um, for all of
the woes and and all of the poo that needs
picking up or or sick dogs or, um, dogs that
(11:19):
are out of sorts or whatever. Um, you would very
to find any dog handler anywhere that would say they
would spend five minutes talking about their dog not doing
this right, doing that wrong. Um, they do this, they
do that. So. Oh, well, do you want me to
come and take the dog away, or will we put
(11:39):
the dog back on the flight to Melbourne for a
bit more training? No. Yeah. Regardless of all those things. So, um, the,
the joy that a dog brings to a handler, um,
and the safety and the independent traveling, that's number one.
That's what we're there for to, to to have that
(11:59):
client to be completely confident that their dog is going
to be able to safely negotiate obstacles and that, um,
the relationship that they then build from that gives the
client self-esteem and the confidence to be able to go
out in the world because, you know, you think about
it even even when you have got all your faculties,
(12:22):
sometimes you just don't want to feel like going out
in the big wide world some days. Um, and so, yeah,
we need to be able to give them that confidence
and those tools to be able to do that every
day that they they have to go out there.
S1 (12:35):
And that also might kind of be, I guess, in
a way, some of the things that are. What are
the most challenging things about the role?
S2 (12:44):
Yeah. The, um, the world. Yeah. Um, the world doesn't
have flat, uh, wide safe, um, gap free trip, hazard free, uh, footpaths. Um,
the roads, uh, don't have down curbs and up curbs
that that just are very, very nice and friendly. Um,
(13:09):
the button for the traffic light is different on just
about every intersection. Um, and it may not be working today. Um,
the shopping center might be going through a renovation. Um, the,
the neighbor parks their work vehicle and their trailer across
the driveway, but you don't know until you get there
(13:29):
that they've done that today. Um, access issues? Um, I
don't know. People. People will be rattling off all their
war stories in their heads. I can I can almost
hear the little ticker's going about that cafe, or that
taxi driver or that Uber driver or that person down
the street said, what are you doing in here with
(13:51):
your dog? Um, all those refusal aspects to everybody has
those unfortunately. Um, and so yeah, that's another challenge as
well dealing with other humans And and and what they
do and don't bring even the really friendly ones. That's
just all they want to do, is get down on
their hands and knees without any warning or anything like that,
(14:16):
and they are in love with the dogs, and they
might even donate to us as well. And that's their
ticket to say, oh, well, I donate so I can
get down here and cuddle your dog. And the person
who's at the other end of the handle is going,
but I'm trying to get to the supermarket. Oh, but
you're gorgeous, aren't you beautiful? The poor dog. The dogs.
(14:37):
Of course. The dog's going to be distracted. So, you know,
even even the other end of the spectrum, the well-meaning
Samaritans that just come and help you, uh, as as
a client with a dog, um, just unsolicited, out of
the blue. You've got a hand on your shoulder or
you've got. Oh, you're an inspiration. And. No, leave me alone.
(14:59):
I've got to get to the. I've got to get
to the supermarket. I've run out of milk. I've run
out of coffee. I need a coffee.
S1 (15:06):
This is my everyday life and I'd like to continue
living it. Thank you very much.
S4 (15:09):
Please. Yeah, yeah.
S2 (15:10):
Or the end of the day. Um, there are a
number of people that have, say, sitting on the bus
or sitting on the train. They're frazzled from work and, uh,
and they're sitting next to a passenger or somebody else
on the bus or the train, and all they want
to do is ask you about your dog, and all
you want to do is listen to a book or
a radio show, or just fall asleep until your dog
(15:33):
nudges you that we're at your stop. And all this
person wants to do is ask you 50 questions. Because
I love your dog. Yeah.
S1 (15:43):
And I guess it just depends on the mood of
the particular client. Sometimes it's lovely. Sometimes it's great to
have a conversation open. At other times you just want
to be chilling.
S4 (15:51):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
S2 (15:53):
I'm just I'm really tired. Just give me a moment. Um, I'll.
I'll answer your questions later, or I've got to make
this phone call or people make an excuse, but, um, yeah.
That's the other thing about cane versus dog. Um, I
don't know if that was one of your thoughts somewhere
on the on the question list there at all. Harriet. But, um, yeah,
(16:14):
the people that use a cane don't have members of
the public come and say, oh, your cane is so beautiful.
How old.
S4 (16:22):
Is white? So stripey. Oh, I love your cane. Oh,
aren't you gorgeous?
S2 (16:27):
No, the dog will will just bring conversation and turn
heads and say, say to clients, you don't realize it,
but we've just walked down the middle of the street
or or down the the the shopping center, um, aisle.
And every single person has looked at you and looked
(16:47):
at your dog and they've gone, oh, no, I had
no idea. How's my hair? Oh, it's my that's what happens.
That's what that the the power of the dog. It's amazing.
S1 (17:00):
So do you have any advice or messages for clients
who might work with you?
S2 (17:05):
Yes. Uh, take a deep breath. When those when those
people come up to you. Remind them, um, you know,
all of our dogs have got a very clear label
on them. Message saying I'm working. Please do not distract. Um, they, um,
often people don't read those signs. They're they're in big
(17:26):
yellow metal plaque on on the standard handle. They're on
the other handles as well. Seeing eye dog. Um. So. Yeah.
Take a breath. Let that human be the human that
they are and just politely say, please don't distract my dog.
I'm trying to get through here safely. And if you
want to help me, tell me where the chemist is.
(17:48):
Or can you tell me how far I am to
the traffic lights? Or just distract the person with a task?
Give them something to say. Okay. Where is this? Where
is that? Even though you might know perfectly well where
you're going. Just give them something and then they think, well,
I've done my Good Samaritan deed for the day. Um, and. Yeah.
(18:09):
And then, you know, it might spark a conversation. And
I say to my clients here in Perth, remind them
that it's a seeing eye dog. It's it's a special dog.
And our dogs here actually go on travelators and escalators,
like all our dogs in Australia do. Um, there are
some dogs here in Perth that are not allowed on
travelators and escalators. They're not allowed in the front footwell.
(18:32):
So I say make sure you let that person know
that this is a seeing eye dog. And they go
everywhere on travelators, on escalators in the front of taxis. Um,
they are allowed to be a dog when they're off harness.
They're allowed to go and have a supervised free run. Um,
so there are some really significant differences about seeing eye dogs, um,
(18:55):
that people don't necessarily know in Perth. Um, and so
my clients are the best ambassadors as well. And they
know that because I keep telling them that too. You
are representing us. Our logo is on the dog. It's
all over the harness. They people can see it's a
it's from Vision Australia. It's a seeing eye dog. And
(19:16):
and you just need to tell them this dog. It
might be a bit distracted today, but it's the best
dog I've ever had. I love my dog. Um, yeah.
So sell, sell the dog, sell the sell the organization
and and then say to them and a lot of
people will say, oh, I want to do puppy raising.
I say, good. Um, we we don't have puppies in Perth,
(19:37):
but we have the best puppies here in Perth. We
have puppies that are in in remote areas to Perth.
They're in the East coast, they're in New South Wales,
they're in Queensland, they're in Melbourne. And your puppy will
not be pooing and weeing in your house, but all
you need to do is just give us some money
every month and you are a puppy raiser. You are
(19:59):
a valued member of our Seeing Eye dog community. And
that puppy is your puppy because you'll get all the updates.
You'll get all the stories. Um, and your your slippers
and your shoes will be safe. They won't be nibbled,
your furniture won't be chewed from your puppy, and the
stain in the carpet will be in Melbourne, or it
will be in Brisbane. And you have that lovely luxury
(20:22):
of still being part of it and being very, very, um,
important in the whole, um, upbringing of our puppies. Um,
so yeah. And it is great. There are a lot
of people here in Perth that come up to me
or when I'm working with a client and they say, oh,
there's one of our dogs. And I say, are you sure?
(20:43):
And they go, oh yes, we puppy raised for you.
We send our money to seeing eye dogs. Oh, that's
so good.
S1 (20:49):
It's a very kind of community bonding spirit thing, and
it's really nice for people to see them in person
as long as they're kind of respectful. Um, you know,
it's like it's nice and tangible when you get to
see the work that they actually do, I think as well.
S2 (21:01):
Yeah, I know it really makes a difference to those
people to actually see what's happened with their money. That
may not be their particular dog, but they know that
somebody else has supported that dog the same way that
they're supporting their puppy, too. So it's so valuable. So yeah,
all our clients, you know, because I know this goes
all over Australia, doesn't it? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sell, sell
puppy raising because your next dog is going to come
(21:24):
from puppy raising.
S1 (21:25):
So yeah puppy puppy sponsorship puppy caring volunteering donating. It's. Yeah.
All all.
S2 (21:30):
Crucial. Absolutely crucial. Yeah.
S1 (21:33):
Just to finish off, is there anything else that you
think that we haven't mentioned that people should know about,
you know, the work of an instructor or seeing eye dogs?
S2 (21:41):
Yes. Um, I would say that, um, yeah. For clients.
Make sure you've got a toilet bag handy at all times. Yes.
You never know. You just never know. Uh, and you
might even have a suspicion that you're walking around with
a hand grenade at the end of your harness, as
(22:01):
I say to my clients. So always make sure you've
got a toilet bag handy. Um uh, but also in
every situation when you're out in the in the big
wide world, um, I had a one of my clients.
I hope he's listening. Um, because this is definitely come
from him, and he's a local Perth client. Uh, and he's,
(22:22):
he said, look, um, if you don't know your rights
as a seeing eye dog handler, you have no rights.
And that is so true. So if you, um, are
in a situation anywhere and everywhere, wherever you are, with
your seeing eye dog and, um, you come across somebody
(22:43):
that's potentially going to refuse you entry, um, you please
everybody across Australia remind that person that in your state
and in federal law as well, um, support our dogs
to have access to all public areas. And please stand
up for those rights, because you're not only standing up
(23:04):
for yourself, but you're standing up for all of our
clients because you don't know when the next handler is
going to come into that cafe, or into that taxi
or that Uber. And if the driver or the cafe
owner has been able to refuse you entry, they'll do
the same thing again for the next person as well.
So what's that term? You see cafes. You're buying another
(23:26):
coffee for somebody.
S1 (23:28):
I'll pay it forward type of thing.
S2 (23:29):
Forward forward payment. That's what it is. It's forward investment
for all of us, all of our handlers everywhere. So, um, yeah,
if you if you if you don't know your rights,
you have no rights. So. Yeah. And and it's everybody
knows that's got a dog. We're protected by federal and
state laws. And just remind that person that no, we
(23:52):
we have access here and please. Yeah. Use your cards. Um,
there are information cards that are available. If you've run out.
Contact your local office or contact your local instructor and
get some sent out to you. Can I put a
plug in for Florida while we're here?
S1 (24:08):
Of course you can.
S2 (24:09):
Laurie at Kensington you will hear about this because Laurie
has ears everywhere, but she she is the backbone. She
has so many clients. Just love the work that Florida
does because it's it's immediate, it's practical, and it's fast.
So Florida will probably get a whole rush, I hope,
of people saying, oh, I've run out of those cards.
(24:32):
I'll contact Florida. So thanks, Laurie. Yeah.
S1 (24:36):
Well, thank you so much for coming on the show
and sharing your story, talking all about seeing eye dogs
and instructing.
S2 (24:43):
Thanks so much for having me, Harriet. Um, I hope
I'm back soon. Uh, I know that there are clients
here that would love to talk to you as well. Uh, and, yeah,
it's just been an honor and a privilege privilege to
to be here and share my story, but. yeah. And
just give it a little bit of confidence and and
oomph to everybody out. You know, it doesn't matter if
you're in Perth or in Ipswich or in, you know, um, Bendigo. Hobart. Yeah.
(25:10):
You've got one of our dogs and just push those
shoulders back and straight on with your dog.
S1 (25:24):
You've been listening to the Seeing Eye Dog show on
Vision Australia Radio. I hope you enjoyed my interview with
Seeing Eye Dogs Perth instructor Matt. Would we have Seeing
Eye Dogs teams across the country and instructors available to
support them either locally or remotely, through phone and email,
or travelling to their location? If you're blind and have
(25:45):
low vision and are interested in learning about becoming a handler,
email us at info at. Or give us a call
on one 1-800-037-7732. Chat to our friendly team about dog guide, mobility,
eligibility or assessment. Now's a great time to consider becoming
(26:07):
a handler. With wait times reduced to an average of
four months, we have more matching opportunities available for people
who are blind or have low vision. If you'd like
to find out more about seeing eye dogs, the work
we do, becoming a handler, or how you can help,
head to our website at. For more episodes of this
(26:30):
and other Great Vision Australia radio shows are available at
our Omni FM page or your preferred podcast platform. Thank
you for listening and have a lovely week.
On Vision Australia Radio. You're listening to the Seeing Eye
dog show with me, your host, Harriet Moffat. Today we're
going to hear from our Perth and Western Australian Seeing
Eye Dogs instructor, Matt Wood, about his life. His story
and client services in Western Australia are seeing eye dog
handlers receive support and training from instructors after graduation to
(00:50):
help support the team through any changes or challenges that
might come their way. Orientation in new areas through life
transitions like retirement, or even just teaching new skills to
fine tune the work to the client's life. Keep listening
to hear about Matt Wood and seeing Eye Dog Mobility
in Perth. And don't forget that you can chat to
our friendly team about whether a seeing eye dog is
(01:11):
right for you, if you're blind or have low vision
and are considering dog guide mobility. Now here's my interview
with Matt. Hi Matt, thanks for joining me on the
show today.
S2 (01:27):
Thanks, Harriet. It's a pleasure to be here. Thank you
for inviting me on.
S3 (01:31):
Could you please start off by introducing yourself?
S2 (01:34):
Yes. Glad to. Um, I'm Matt Wood, I'm a senior
dog mobility instructor. I work with Vision Australia as a
seeing eye dog instructor in Perth, Western Australia, and I
have been here now for over three years. I work with, um,
all of the dog handlers that are here in Perth,
and I've even been asked, um, occasionally to do programs over,
(01:57):
over East as well. So at the moment we've got
well over 30 working units and teams in Western Australia,
so they keep me fairly busy from Monday to Friday.
So yeah, I'm full time here in Perth.
S3 (02:10):
Is it quite spread out or is it pretty much
everyone's in Perth.
S2 (02:13):
Uh, we have a couple down south. Generally, because of
the climate in Western Australia, it's quite warm and, um,
usually not very dog friendly. Uh, further north of Perth. Um,
I would love to have, you know, it's quite possible
to have a dog in Geraldton. Um, we had almost
had a client there a little while ago. Um, but, yeah,
(02:35):
most of the clients are in and around Perth. Uh,
and as I said, a few south and southwest, the
southwest corner of Western Australia is is beautiful. Um, but yeah.
And Perth being Perth, it's the longest capital city I
believe in, in the world. Uh, as well as being
the most remote, it runs up and down the coastline.
So it's quite the trek to go from north to south.
(02:57):
And it's it's relatively narrow as well.
S3 (03:01):
Yeah. I was just thinking, like, if you're kind of
supporting all of your clients, you kind of hope that
they're not, uh, top to bottom of Western Australia because
you have quite a lot of ground to cover. But, um,
even Perth itself might be pretty big.
S2 (03:11):
Yes it is.
S3 (03:13):
So what is your background in this industry?
S2 (03:17):
I've been working with people with vision impairment since 2010. Um,
prior to that, I was a primary school teacher and
a colleague who, um, encouraged me to escape the classroom. But, um,
it's like the old saying, you can take the teacher
out of the classroom, but you can't take the classroom
out of the teacher. So I was able to bring
across a whole lot of skills as far as teaching
(03:39):
and working with people, with the teaching skills that I
developed over those years. And in 2010, I began as
an orientation and mobility instructor in, um, in New South Wales, um,
with another organization and worked with a lot of clients
in country New South Wales. And the more I worked
with those people, um, and I had no intention of
(04:01):
being anywhere near dogs. Of course, working with people in
this industry, you come across all sorts. And I would
inevitably come across people that used a dog and I
started to get an interest in how does this work?
There's a bit of magic going on here. And as
it turned out, there were several changes in my local
(04:22):
regional office and the dog instructors suddenly went down to zero.
And I kept badgering my manager and said, we need
another dog instructor in our region. And yeah, he very
kindly supported my application. And that organization supported me to
to do the dog training in Sydney. Yeah. So I've
completed that in 2015. So I'm over ten years now
(04:43):
working with dogs and people with vision impairment. And as
I said, over three years here now in Perth with
all the Vision Australia clients that use us over here
in Perth.
S1 (04:53):
I think it's kind of amazing because you think, I
think a lot of people would probably assume that, you know,
instructor comes from, you know, I've always loved dogs and
a dog person, whereas I think it's kind of not
everyone considers that, you know, you've come from like actually
probably one of the most people iest jobs that there
is teaching. um, into working with more people.
S2 (05:13):
Yeah. And it's it's such a transfer over between problem solving, um,
sharing those problems and working with those problems together, whether
it's with children or with parents. And now it's with
the client trying to build a rapport and work out
what it is that we can get this dog to do,
and coax the dog and train the dog and, um,
(05:34):
work with the dog and then work with the client
so that the, the team becomes the team. So it
is it's constantly changing. And of course, every dog is different.
Every human is different. Um, and, and our needs and
our energy changes every day. But of course, every environment
is different as well. So, um, you know, we know
(05:55):
if we're drivers, uh, every time we're on a road,
we think, oh, I know this road. But then suddenly
it can change very quickly. And it's the same with
vision impairment. You know, you can be very familiar going
down a street day in and day out. And then
suddenly there's an obstacle there, or there's construction going on.
And you think, hang on, I'm out of my comfort zone.
(06:16):
How do I get around this? So, yeah.
S1 (06:19):
So I guess that kind of maybe leads into a
little bit of, like what? You know, what do you
do in the role and what is a day like
in your life as an instructor? So kind of how
you work.
S2 (06:30):
Yes. Yeah. Every day is different. And unfortunately today has
been a fairly boring day. I've been sitting in front
of a laptop doing, uh, an application for a new dog,
for a new client, their first dog. So there's a
lot of paperwork involved with that. But, um, you know, ideally,
the best days that I look forward to are training
(06:51):
days when, um, we've started with a new dog, and
whether it's an experienced client that's had 1 or 2
or multiple dogs before or a brand new client. Um,
so yeah, we call that a training class. And everybody that's,
that's got a dog that's listening to this will remember
day one of that training class with their brand new dog.
(07:11):
And as I say, every day is different. And then
there are some days that are very different and not
the most pleasant days to have. And there will be
people here with a dog sitting beside them listening to this,
and they'll be nodding to themselves. So we've all had
that day. I used to dread those days as a
young instructor, and now I almost. I don't look forward
(07:34):
to them, but when they come, it's like, yes, we
have hit rock bottom and a lot of clients that
don't know me say, what is wrong with you? I'm,
you know, I'm falling apart. This is not working. I
can't get the dog to do what I want the
dog to do. And the dog's not, you know, this,
that and the other. And I say this. Okay. One question.
(07:56):
Do you want to keep going, or do you want
to go back to day one with a brand new dog?
And every single person that's come to that rock bottom says, no,
I love my dog. We've got a good things going
on here that are really good. I don't want to
give up. I don't want to go back to day
one because, um, yeah, it means starting from scratch every day.
As I said, every dog is different. So you think
(08:18):
I'm just starting to work this dog out? We've got
a bit of a problem here we are. We going
to keep working on it? Yes, we will. And let's
solve this because everybody's been in this situation and a
lot of, you know, first timers don't realize that too.
So um, if you're thinking about if you're listening to
this and you're thinking about getting a dog, um, yeah,
there will be tough days, but, um, it just means
(08:41):
working through, battling on, um, sticking with the positives because every,
every day will have a positive of some sort. Um,
and the dogs always they, our dogs come with unconditional love.
So they want to they want to do the right thing.
We want to do the right thing for everybody. So, um, yeah,
those days are very tricky and very interesting. Um, and
(09:05):
as I said, just about I think just every single
person that's, come to that. That crunch day suddenly goes, yep. Okay,
let's let's what do we do? And we'll work on
the way out of that. That rock bottom hole. Um,
so they're the challenging ones. And then there's, you know,
the other days that I have touching base with people
that are well experienced, um, that have got a minor
(09:27):
problem or a follow up. We'll just touch base. How's
everything going? Everything's great. Let's just check. How's the health
of the dog? How are you going? Anything in particular?
So they're positive and good fun days, too. Um, but. Yeah.
So it's like everything. Yeah, there are good days and
there are bad days, or there are tricky days, as
I say. So, um, and the beauty with this job
(09:48):
is that we have to make ourselves redundant. We want
to make our clients independent. So if my client is
still ringing up every day or every week and saying, oh,
what do I do for this? What do I do
for that? Um, six months, nine months, 12 months later,
you know, every day or whatever. Um, I haven't done
my job properly, I've got to be able to give
(10:09):
them that skill and that confidence to go out there independently.
S1 (10:13):
And I guess that's where you kind of have said about,
you know, so much of it is problem solving. And
it's like if there's a challenge, you need to get
over it for the sake of kind of like resolving it,
I guess, rather than band aid each thing.
S2 (10:25):
Yeah, yeah. What, what what can we do with this dog?
What what are the skills that this dog has got
that we can tap into. And what's your experience in
these situations that we can tap into? How can we
approach it a different way if whatever we're doing is
giving us that outcome that we don't necessarily want, what
can we do to change that? What do we what
(10:46):
do we need to mix up in there? Um, yeah.
S1 (10:52):
So that might kind of lead on to, you know,
what are your favorite things about being an instructor?
S2 (10:58):
Yeah. Solving those problems. Uh, and, and hearing that that we,
you know, we as in, you know, seeing our dog instructors, um,
have made a difference for people. Um, for all of
the woes and and all of the poo that needs
picking up or or sick dogs or, um, dogs that
(11:19):
are out of sorts or whatever. Um, you would very
to find any dog handler anywhere that would say they
would spend five minutes talking about their dog not doing
this right, doing that wrong. Um, they do this, they
do that. So. Oh, well, do you want me to
come and take the dog away, or will we put
(11:39):
the dog back on the flight to Melbourne for a
bit more training? No. Yeah. Regardless of all those things. So, um, the,
the joy that a dog brings to a handler, um,
and the safety and the independent traveling, that's number one.
That's what we're there for to, to to have that
(11:59):
client to be completely confident that their dog is going
to be able to safely negotiate obstacles and that, um,
the relationship that they then build from that gives the
client self-esteem and the confidence to be able to go
out in the world because, you know, you think about
it even even when you have got all your faculties,
(12:22):
sometimes you just don't want to feel like going out
in the big wide world some days. Um, and so, yeah,
we need to be able to give them that confidence
and those tools to be able to do that every
day that they they have to go out there.
S1 (12:35):
And that also might kind of be, I guess, in
a way, some of the things that are. What are
the most challenging things about the role?
S2 (12:44):
Yeah. The, um, the world. Yeah. Um, the world doesn't
have flat, uh, wide safe, um, gap free trip, hazard free, uh, footpaths. Um,
the roads, uh, don't have down curbs and up curbs
that that just are very, very nice and friendly. Um,
(13:09):
the button for the traffic light is different on just
about every intersection. Um, and it may not be working today. Um,
the shopping center might be going through a renovation. Um, the,
the neighbor parks their work vehicle and their trailer across
the driveway, but you don't know until you get there
(13:29):
that they've done that today. Um, access issues? Um, I
don't know. People. People will be rattling off all their
war stories in their heads. I can I can almost
hear the little ticker's going about that cafe, or that
taxi driver or that Uber driver or that person down
the street said, what are you doing in here with
(13:51):
your dog? Um, all those refusal aspects to everybody has
those unfortunately. Um, and so yeah, that's another challenge as
well dealing with other humans And and and what they
do and don't bring even the really friendly ones. That's
just all they want to do, is get down on
their hands and knees without any warning or anything like that,
(14:16):
and they are in love with the dogs, and they
might even donate to us as well. And that's their
ticket to say, oh, well, I donate so I can
get down here and cuddle your dog. And the person
who's at the other end of the handle is going,
but I'm trying to get to the supermarket. Oh, but
you're gorgeous, aren't you beautiful? The poor dog. The dogs.
(14:37):
Of course. The dog's going to be distracted. So, you know,
even even the other end of the spectrum, the well-meaning
Samaritans that just come and help you, uh, as as
a client with a dog, um, just unsolicited, out of
the blue. You've got a hand on your shoulder or
you've got. Oh, you're an inspiration. And. No, leave me alone.
(14:59):
I've got to get to the. I've got to get
to the supermarket. I've run out of milk. I've run
out of coffee. I need a coffee.
S1 (15:06):
This is my everyday life and I'd like to continue
living it. Thank you very much.
S4 (15:09):
Please. Yeah, yeah.
S2 (15:10):
Or the end of the day. Um, there are a
number of people that have, say, sitting on the bus
or sitting on the train. They're frazzled from work and, uh,
and they're sitting next to a passenger or somebody else
on the bus or the train, and all they want
to do is ask you about your dog, and all
you want to do is listen to a book or
a radio show, or just fall asleep until your dog
(15:33):
nudges you that we're at your stop. And all this
person wants to do is ask you 50 questions. Because
I love your dog. Yeah.
S1 (15:43):
And I guess it just depends on the mood of
the particular client. Sometimes it's lovely. Sometimes it's great to
have a conversation open. At other times you just want
to be chilling.
S4 (15:51):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
S2 (15:53):
I'm just I'm really tired. Just give me a moment. Um, I'll.
I'll answer your questions later, or I've got to make
this phone call or people make an excuse, but, um, yeah.
That's the other thing about cane versus dog. Um, I
don't know if that was one of your thoughts somewhere
on the on the question list there at all. Harriet. But, um, yeah,
(16:14):
the people that use a cane don't have members of
the public come and say, oh, your cane is so beautiful.
How old.
S4 (16:22):
Is white? So stripey. Oh, I love your cane. Oh,
aren't you gorgeous?
S2 (16:27):
No, the dog will will just bring conversation and turn
heads and say, say to clients, you don't realize it,
but we've just walked down the middle of the street
or or down the the the shopping center, um, aisle.
And every single person has looked at you and looked
(16:47):
at your dog and they've gone, oh, no, I had
no idea. How's my hair? Oh, it's my that's what happens.
That's what that the the power of the dog. It's amazing.
S1 (17:00):
So do you have any advice or messages for clients
who might work with you?
S2 (17:05):
Yes. Uh, take a deep breath. When those when those
people come up to you. Remind them, um, you know,
all of our dogs have got a very clear label
on them. Message saying I'm working. Please do not distract. Um, they, um,
often people don't read those signs. They're they're in big
(17:26):
yellow metal plaque on on the standard handle. They're on
the other handles as well. Seeing eye dog. Um. So. Yeah.
Take a breath. Let that human be the human that
they are and just politely say, please don't distract my dog.
I'm trying to get through here safely. And if you
want to help me, tell me where the chemist is.
(17:48):
Or can you tell me how far I am to
the traffic lights? Or just distract the person with a task?
Give them something to say. Okay. Where is this? Where
is that? Even though you might know perfectly well where
you're going. Just give them something and then they think, well,
I've done my Good Samaritan deed for the day. Um, and. Yeah.
(18:09):
And then, you know, it might spark a conversation. And
I say to my clients here in Perth, remind them
that it's a seeing eye dog. It's it's a special dog.
And our dogs here actually go on travelators and escalators,
like all our dogs in Australia do. Um, there are
some dogs here in Perth that are not allowed on
travelators and escalators. They're not allowed in the front footwell.
(18:32):
So I say make sure you let that person know
that this is a seeing eye dog. And they go
everywhere on travelators, on escalators in the front of taxis. Um,
they are allowed to be a dog when they're off harness.
They're allowed to go and have a supervised free run. Um,
so there are some really significant differences about seeing eye dogs, um,
(18:55):
that people don't necessarily know in Perth. Um, and so
my clients are the best ambassadors as well. And they
know that because I keep telling them that too. You
are representing us. Our logo is on the dog. It's
all over the harness. They people can see it's a
it's from Vision Australia. It's a seeing eye dog. And
(19:16):
and you just need to tell them this dog. It
might be a bit distracted today, but it's the best
dog I've ever had. I love my dog. Um, yeah.
So sell, sell the dog, sell the sell the organization
and and then say to them and a lot of
people will say, oh, I want to do puppy raising.
I say, good. Um, we we don't have puppies in Perth,
(19:37):
but we have the best puppies here in Perth. We
have puppies that are in in remote areas to Perth.
They're in the East coast, they're in New South Wales,
they're in Queensland, they're in Melbourne. And your puppy will
not be pooing and weeing in your house, but all
you need to do is just give us some money
every month and you are a puppy raiser. You are
(19:59):
a valued member of our Seeing Eye dog community. And
that puppy is your puppy because you'll get all the updates.
You'll get all the stories. Um, and your your slippers
and your shoes will be safe. They won't be nibbled,
your furniture won't be chewed from your puppy, and the
stain in the carpet will be in Melbourne, or it
will be in Brisbane. And you have that lovely luxury
(20:22):
of still being part of it and being very, very, um,
important in the whole, um, upbringing of our puppies. Um,
so yeah. And it is great. There are a lot
of people here in Perth that come up to me
or when I'm working with a client and they say, oh,
there's one of our dogs. And I say, are you sure?
(20:43):
And they go, oh yes, we puppy raised for you.
We send our money to seeing eye dogs. Oh, that's
so good.
S1 (20:49):
It's a very kind of community bonding spirit thing, and
it's really nice for people to see them in person
as long as they're kind of respectful. Um, you know,
it's like it's nice and tangible when you get to
see the work that they actually do, I think as well.
S2 (21:01):
Yeah, I know it really makes a difference to those
people to actually see what's happened with their money. That
may not be their particular dog, but they know that
somebody else has supported that dog the same way that
they're supporting their puppy, too. So it's so valuable. So yeah,
all our clients, you know, because I know this goes
all over Australia, doesn't it? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sell, sell
puppy raising because your next dog is going to come
(21:24):
from puppy raising.
S1 (21:25):
So yeah puppy puppy sponsorship puppy caring volunteering donating. It's. Yeah.
All all.
S2 (21:30):
Crucial. Absolutely crucial. Yeah.
S1 (21:33):
Just to finish off, is there anything else that you
think that we haven't mentioned that people should know about,
you know, the work of an instructor or seeing eye dogs?
S2 (21:41):
Yes. Um, I would say that, um, yeah. For clients.
Make sure you've got a toilet bag handy at all times. Yes.
You never know. You just never know. Uh, and you
might even have a suspicion that you're walking around with
a hand grenade at the end of your harness, as
(22:01):
I say to my clients. So always make sure you've
got a toilet bag handy. Um uh, but also in
every situation when you're out in the in the big
wide world, um, I had a one of my clients.
I hope he's listening. Um, because this is definitely come
from him, and he's a local Perth client. Uh, and he's,
(22:22):
he said, look, um, if you don't know your rights
as a seeing eye dog handler, you have no rights.
And that is so true. So if you, um, are
in a situation anywhere and everywhere, wherever you are, with
your seeing eye dog and, um, you come across somebody
(22:43):
that's potentially going to refuse you entry, um, you please
everybody across Australia remind that person that in your state
and in federal law as well, um, support our dogs
to have access to all public areas. And please stand
up for those rights, because you're not only standing up
(23:04):
for yourself, but you're standing up for all of our
clients because you don't know when the next handler is
going to come into that cafe, or into that taxi
or that Uber. And if the driver or the cafe
owner has been able to refuse you entry, they'll do
the same thing again for the next person as well.
So what's that term? You see cafes. You're buying another
(23:26):
coffee for somebody.
S1 (23:28):
I'll pay it forward type of thing.
S2 (23:29):
Forward forward payment. That's what it is. It's forward investment
for all of us, all of our handlers everywhere. So, um, yeah,
if you if you if you don't know your rights,
you have no rights. So. Yeah. And and it's everybody
knows that's got a dog. We're protected by federal and
state laws. And just remind that person that no, we
(23:52):
we have access here and please. Yeah. Use your cards. Um,
there are information cards that are available. If you've run out.
Contact your local office or contact your local instructor and
get some sent out to you. Can I put a
plug in for Florida while we're here?
S1 (24:08):
Of course you can.
S2 (24:09):
Laurie at Kensington you will hear about this because Laurie
has ears everywhere, but she she is the backbone. She
has so many clients. Just love the work that Florida
does because it's it's immediate, it's practical, and it's fast.
So Florida will probably get a whole rush, I hope,
of people saying, oh, I've run out of those cards.
(24:32):
I'll contact Florida. So thanks, Laurie. Yeah.
S1 (24:36):
Well, thank you so much for coming on the show
and sharing your story, talking all about seeing eye dogs
and instructing.
S2 (24:43):
Thanks so much for having me, Harriet. Um, I hope
I'm back soon. Uh, I know that there are clients
here that would love to talk to you as well. Uh, and, yeah,
it's just been an honor and a privilege privilege to
to be here and share my story, but. yeah. And
just give it a little bit of confidence and and
oomph to everybody out. You know, it doesn't matter if
you're in Perth or in Ipswich or in, you know, um, Bendigo. Hobart. Yeah.
(25:10):
You've got one of our dogs and just push those
shoulders back and straight on with your dog.
S1 (25:24):
You've been listening to the Seeing Eye Dog show on
Vision Australia Radio. I hope you enjoyed my interview with
Seeing Eye Dogs Perth instructor Matt. Would we have Seeing
Eye Dogs teams across the country and instructors available to
support them either locally or remotely, through phone and email,
or travelling to their location? If you're blind and have
(25:45):
low vision and are interested in learning about becoming a handler,
email us at info at. Or give us a call
on one 1-800-037-7732. Chat to our friendly team about dog guide, mobility,
eligibility or assessment. Now's a great time to consider becoming
(26:07):
a handler. With wait times reduced to an average of
four months, we have more matching opportunities available for people
who are blind or have low vision. If you'd like
to find out more about seeing eye dogs, the work
we do, becoming a handler, or how you can help,
head to our website at. For more episodes of this
(26:30):
and other Great Vision Australia radio shows are available at
our Omni FM page or your preferred podcast platform. Thank
you for listening and have a lovely week.
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