June 19, 2025 • 30 mins
On this episode of the Seeing Eye Dogs Show Harriet is joined by two guests.
Liv Butcher, Seeing Eye Dogs Volunteer Partnership Coordinator and puppy carer, joins us talking about the impact of our volunteers, what they do for Seeing Eye Dogs and the variety of roles where volunteers make a difference.
Kylie Gersh, Training Program Manager, joins us to talk about the lives of training dogs, what they get up to when they're not training and about the role of Training Dog Carers. Seeing Eye Dogs is looking for training dog carers who live or work locally to, or could do the daily weekday drop off and pick ups from the Kensington, VIC Seeing Eye Dogs site.
We’re looking for lots of types of carers currently including training dog carers local to SED Kensington site. Head to the training dog care page of our website to find out about training dog care or to the volunteering page to read about all volunteer roles.
If you'd like to find out more about Seeing Eye Dogs head to our website: https://sed.visionaustralia.org/
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, Harriet Moffatt. Today I'm
joined by two guests. The first is Live Butcher Seeing
Eye Dogs volunteer partnership coordinator. That means she looks after
all of our lovely volunteers across Seeing Eye dogs. And
we're going to be talking about volunteering the roles that
we have, how our volunteers help us, and what some
(00:32):
of our caring roles are. And then I'm going to
be joined by training manager Kylie Gersh, who's going to
be talking to us more specifically about training dog care volunteers.
We're looking for training dog carers at the moment, so
we're going to be talking a bit about that role
and what that entails. So without further ado, I'm going
to kick off with my first interview for today, which
is with live!
S2 (01:00):
High live. Thanks for joining me on the show today.
S3 (01:03):
Thanks for having me.
S2 (01:05):
Could you please start off by introducing yourself?
S3 (01:07):
My name is Liv and I am the Seeing Eye
Dogs Volunteer Partnerships coordinator. I've been in this role since
January 2024. However, I've been involved with seeing eye dogs
since 2018. Um, so seven years, um, when we first
started Puppy Caring. And we're now onto our 12th and
13th puppy that we're raising.
S2 (01:27):
Wow. 12th and 13th being, uh, two at the same time,
which is kind of wild.
S3 (01:33):
Yes, I do love, um, raising puppies. I'm kind of
addicted to it.
S2 (01:38):
So, so many of our volunteers at Seeing Eye Dogs
are volunteers. And, you know, I know that, um, you
very much live and breathe the program, as discussed. Could
you please summarize, um, I guess some of the many
types of caring, specific volunteering roles and what they mean?
S3 (01:53):
Sure. So, um, our most popular, caring role is caring
for a puppy that is eight weeks through to 12 months.
So that we call that our full time caring program. Um,
we also do offer a six month program, so where
you can look after a puppy from eight weeks, uh,
through to six months or six months through to 12. Otherwise,
we do have a training dog program, which involves providing
(02:16):
dogs that are in our formal training program, an opportunity
to switch off outside of the kennel environment and to
have some downtime in a, in a home. Um, this
program is for carers who do live close by to
our senior dog headquarters, uh, as it does require daily
drop off and pickup. And this program can be approximately
for four months. We do also offer that program within
(02:38):
New South Wales and Queensland. It does look a little
bit different where we have the instructors picking up the dogs,
but it's definitely something that we offer there as well.
We also do have a breeding program where we have
our breeding colony are out with our carers as well. Uh,
sometimes these dogs are with our carers for a number
of years, just depending on their progress throughout the program
(02:59):
and suitability as well. This is an opportunity for our
dogs in this program to again live in a home
and be cared for during the time when they are
creating our new generation or our next generation within these programs. Um,
our carers are providing a loving and welcoming home, um,
where they are able to be themselves, but at the
(03:21):
same time learn manners and, um, have exposure to social
situations that they may not be able to do so
in a kennel environment. It also allows our dogs to
live in different, um, situations, such as different housing and
different lifestyles as well also providing these families with the
opportunity to be involved in our program.
S2 (03:43):
And I spoke with Kylie recently about the training dog
Care program. She's also suggested that if you don't live
that close, but if you work close and you're happy to,
you know, drop them off. You know, maybe your kids
go to school near our Kensington site, or you have
an office in the city where you'll pass through. You know,
we're also very keen for you guys to get involved
in that way too, which I think is cool. So
(04:04):
another another one to note there.
S3 (04:07):
Absolutely. Yes. We you know, we do try and accommodate
everyone with one of our programs. So please, um, just
be in touch with us and we can definitely sort,
try and sort something out.
S2 (04:18):
So for all of our caring roles, do carers have
to have experience and do they have to pay for
the care of the dog, including, you know, food or
medical needs?
S3 (04:27):
So first of all, no, you do not have to
have any experience whatsoever. And that I think that is
one of the best parts about our program. So we
have people that have never had a dog in their home,
or exposure to a dog to people that have bred
and trained other breeds as well. So whether you are
at either extreme or in the middle somewhere, do not
worry because our team will provide you with hands on,
(04:50):
one on one training in addition to group training as well.
So you'll be learning from the subject matter experts on
our puppies as well as, you know, finding out a
little bit more as to why certain training builds those
stepping stones for the dogs when they go into formal training.
Our dedicated staff will provide you with all of the
necessary training. In addition to the training, we'll provide the
(05:12):
equipment that you'll need for your puppy, as well as
covering the costs of all medical bills, as well as
the food which has been kindly donated by Royal Cannon,
and also the parasite prevention tablets have been donated by Zoetis.
S2 (05:27):
So it's a really nice program if you know, I
guess one of the barriers for you is maybe thinking about,
you know, the cost of a pet dog, which, you know,
especially that's not just 16 years, but each each of
those types of things you don't have to think about.
So it's very nice and accessible for people who don't
want to put that money out to care for a
dog in their home. So for puppy caring, what are
the types of flexibility that we have that allow carers
(05:51):
to take puppies, even if, for example, they might work
and couldn't manage a baby dog. You know, I think
you mentioned a bit before about the six month program.
Can you tell us a bit about those?
S3 (06:00):
Yes. One of the things I've seen change within CNI
dogs over the last seven years is the different types
of programs, um, that senior dogs offer to allow people
in different circumstances to participate in our program. So we
talk about the six month program where you have a
pup going from eight weeks to six months with a carer,
(06:21):
and throughout that program they are taking the puppy out,
learning those toileting routines as well as, you know, general
home manners as well. So that alongside the pre started
program which involves puppies going to experience carers again for
those first 4 to 6 weeks outside of the CNI
dogs Puppy Centre allows carers who may not be in
(06:42):
a position to take the puppy into work. So, for example,
they may work in a high rise in the city.
So taking a puppy down from the 36th floor to
toilet every 45 minutes may not actually be possible, or
we also do have carers that live in apartments that
don't necessarily have a secure outdoor area because they may
again be on a high level. So taking the puppy downstairs,
(07:06):
particularly if it's still quite young and needing to toilet
throughout the night, it's not ideal. So we have our
carers that are in a position to be able to
do that part of the programme, and then allowing carers
who can then do the rest of the programme and
take those puppy through to formal training. As I said,
it allows these carers to be involved, gives them the opportunity,
(07:27):
doesn't discount them from being a part of puppy caring.
S2 (07:31):
And I think it is a really amazing kind of
point to note that, you know, not only is that
a bit of a team effort, you know, some of
the people, they just love that baby stage and they'll
do it 15 times over in a year and that's
like ideal for them. And then it means that someone,
for example, when I was a uni student, it was
not exactly the best thing to be taking a tiny
baby puppy on, you know, 2 or 3 forms of
(07:51):
public transport before getting to uni and being out all day,
but it provided a really good level of experience for
some dogs that then, you know, could go on and
have had experience in an environment like that. So very
much benefits the dogs that we have those different programmes to,
which is cool it does.
S3 (08:07):
And one of the things that we also do say
is that it takes a village to raise one of
these puppies. So very similar to that child mentality, you know,
raising within the family. These dogs are a part of
our family and that that includes the wider volunteer cohort.
So we all do step in and take turns in
helping out these puppies. And one of the six month
program options allows people to travel as well. So we
(08:30):
do have people that are fortunate to be traveling around Australia. So,
you know, they may just do six months and then
head off for their their six month vacation in the sun,
and then they return to start all over again.
S2 (08:43):
And so I guess we've kind of covered that. There
are some very varied backgrounds and lifestyles of these volunteers,
you know, what are some of the lifestyles of our
current current volunteers? And, you know, for example, can full
time workers or, you know, retirees, you know, families with
kids volunteer and you know, what type of workplaces that
do the pups go to?
S3 (09:03):
You're right. We have such a diverse range of demographic
within our program. So we do have young singles to
families with children of all ages. So we have actually
had carers in the past that have been pregnant throughout
their puppy caring and have, um, had the baby. And
so that child then grew up having a dog in
(09:24):
the home to retirees who are just enjoying the best
part of their lives as well. So, you know, we
don't really have a family unit or a lifestyle that
hasn't been covered. We actually then extend that out to
our workplaces. Again, very varied, um, where our puppies do go.
So just as an example, we have many puppies in schools,
(09:45):
office buildings, medical facilities and retail outlets, just to name
a few. So again, these provide different forms of distraction
training and settling training as well. And it's important to
understand that our clients live and work the same situations
that our carers do. So it's so valuable being able
to provide these puppies with opportunities to exposures of different
environments and lifestyles from a young age.
S2 (10:09):
Some of these people, I guess, have very varied hobbies,
whether those are and I've spoken to a few, um,
you know, puppy carers recently and the kind of structures
of their lives or the lack of structure in terms
of just doing all of these things, you know, how
do volunteers fit in caring roles along work and family
and hobbies?
S3 (10:26):
Many people think that puppy caring is onerous and it
takes away from their day to day activities such as
you've just outlined. But in fact, because our puppies are
so incredibly resilient and love to be out and about
with you, it makes the program a lot easier to
be incorporated into your lifestyle. The puppies go most places
with you, so there are only a few areas where
the puppies can't go, but otherwise they are welcomed into
(10:49):
areas when they've got their little jackets on. So the
puppies are also really proud when they're wearing their coats,
so they definitely want to show the world how lovely
they look in their coats and attending sporting matches. Going
out for coffee theatres or just doing the weekly grocery
shopping is really something that we can incorporate the puppies into.
As a part of my daily routine and as a
(11:09):
puppy carer myself, it's a part of my checklist when
going out the door, you know, checking. I've got my keys, sunglasses,
phone and puppy. So if I don't have my puppy,
I do feel a little bit that something is missing.
So it does become a part of your lifestyle very quickly.
And I guess to the fact that we are so
again fortunate to have our programs run over three different states.
(11:30):
It allows our carers to offer these puppies different experiences
along with their hobbies as well. So for example, we
have carers that live near the beach in the hustle
bustle of the CBD as well as suburban and rural areas.
So we have farmers and people that are hanging out
in the city doing everyday things, and the puppies can
(11:50):
just come along with them.
S2 (11:52):
Pilates. Pottery. Yes. Shopping. Shopping.
S3 (11:58):
There are so many things that I would actually take
up a lot of the radio time listing them all.
So it just goes to show that this program is
just so accessible for all.
S2 (12:10):
So our puppy caring trend or caring breeder caring roles
are a very large part of the volunteering roles, especially
hours that we do have at seeing eye dogs. But
it's not only those people taking care of puppies in
their own homes that make up our wonderful volunteers. What
are the non caring roles that we have at seeing
eye dogs?
S3 (12:29):
So we do have a variety of non caring roles
such as um driving sewers, admin assistants as well as
roles in our kennels and puppy centre as well supporting
the Seeing Eye Dogs team to provide a high level
of care for the dogs when they are boarding with us.
And I'm so incredibly grateful to have such an experienced
(12:50):
cohort of volunteers in our non caring roles. It is
just so valuable to have their time and dedication coming
on site to help out with that. We are currently
full with our rosters and with the exception for our drivers.
So if you are interested in helping us drive around
for us, please reach out and get in touch and
we'll be more than happy to, um, speak to you
(13:12):
further about that. If you are interested in one of
the other non caring roles, please again reach out to
us and we can put you on our waitlist for
when we do have a vacancy become available.
S2 (13:23):
And there's so much information on our website about all
of these volunteering roles too, so people can just, I guess,
have a read at their leisure and and reach out
to the team if they have any questions or are
interested in at some point, you know, when available, helping
us out?
S3 (13:39):
Yes, absolutely.
S2 (13:42):
So how does one apply for the caring roles are
we looking for for carer volunteers now.
S3 (13:48):
As you mentioned, please head straight to our website and
you'll find the application form online. You will then go
through the questionnaire. Our team will then be in touch.
And then we will start the compliance checks and then
home inspection from there. We are always looking for puppy carers.
We have litters born every month, so there's always puppies
needing loving homes to start their program, just as we
(14:09):
do have dogs that are graduating into the breeding program.
And then of course going into the training dog program,
as mentioned earlier as well. So the website will provide
you with a lot of information about the programs. Alternatively,
if you are looking maybe on seek or go volunteer,
they'll also have the application forms there as well. You
(14:30):
can also email us at volunteer at Vision Australia. Org
and we can provide you with some further information about that,
or you're most welcome to attend one of our information
sessions that we hold on a regular basis, where we
go through the whole program and you'll have staff and
experienced carers on there that can answer any of your questions.
(14:50):
So again, please head to our website which is Sydney, Australia,
and you will be able to register for the next
upcoming session.
S2 (15:00):
In summary, what do you think that volunteers get out
of the volunteer work that they do?
S3 (15:05):
They get opportunities to learn new skills and find out
more about the important work these puppies will do. For
a member of our blind and low vision community. They
will also get that increased sense of community with not
only your family and friends, but colleagues and that wider
volunteer cohort. I personally have made friends for life through
this program. I've learned so much more about what Vision
(15:27):
Australia does as a whole. Not just seeing eye dogs,
but for the puppy caring time that I have been
involved with. It's the reward of knowing that the love
and dedication that you put into these dogs will go
out to help a member of our blind and low
vision community to live the life that they choose, but
also it gives you a gorgeous puppy that will give
(15:48):
you the reason to get out and about. Um, you know,
you have many laughs and tears, um, of every milestone
that they do reach. But there's always that unconditional love.
So there's so much to gain from this program.
S2 (16:01):
And just to finish off, are there any messages that
you have for our current volunteers or for anyone who's
considering volunteering?
S3 (16:10):
Sure. I think first and foremost, I would sincerely like
to thank each and every one of the volunteers we have.
We currently do have over 840 amazing people that are
helping us with these dogs. So no matter which or
how many roles that you have with us, you will
hear us often say that we are so appreciative and
(16:30):
we thank you and we mean it from the bottom
of our heart because we could not do this without you.
I really would like to say anyone that is considering
coming to volunteer with us. It is such a rewarding
experience in so many different ways, especially with a program
such as ours that you're seeing the results on a
daily basis as well, because the pups are in your
home or, you know, on a weekly basis when you
are volunteering on site. So we want to, as I said,
(16:53):
make sure all of our volunteers are offered the opportunity
to provide all the information that they are seeking prior
to them signing up as well. So we'll give you
as much support as you need, and that support will
always continue throughout your time with us. I think personally,
I'd just like to say volunteering has given me so
much more than I expected. Um, it's given me the
(17:14):
opportunity to be surrounded by like minded people, and I've
been afforded time with puppies who have given me a
boost when needed, and wonderful feeling of joy and happiness
when I see them reaching those milestones. Most importantly, it's
given my family and I the opportunity to give back
to the community to change people's lives who are blind
or have low vision. Some we will never meet. Some
(17:35):
we have been fortunate to meet, to live the life
that they choose. It's just been so incredibly rewarding.
S2 (17:41):
Well, thank you so much for coming on the show
to chat. All things volunteering live.
S3 (17:45):
You're very welcome. Thanks for having me.
S1 (17:53):
You've been listening to the Seeing Eye Dog show on
Vision Australia Radio. I hope you enjoyed my interview with
Liv Butcher, our volunteer partnerships coordinator. If you'd like to
find out about volunteering roles or anything else about seeing
eye dogs, the work we do, or how you can help,
head to our website at. Org. Now I'm going to
be joined by Kylie Gersh, our training program Manager at dogs,
(18:16):
who's going to be talking to us specifically about training,
dog care and the life of our training dogs if
they are not in kennels throughout their period of training.
Thank you for listening and I hope you enjoy.
S2 (18:26):
Hi Kylie, thanks for joining me on the show today.
S4 (18:28):
Hi, how are you?
S2 (18:29):
What is your role? Just to start off.
S4 (18:31):
My role Seeing Eye Dogs is training program manager, so
I support the team who train adult dogs from anywhere
between 12 and 14 months old. They generally come in
for formal training up until around two years, two years old.
S2 (18:47):
And I guess occasionally you get the slightly older, you know,
returned from other programs like breeding type of type of
dogs as well. Just to to shout out to our
lovely older dogs.
S4 (18:57):
Yeah. Yes. Yep. Yeah. Absolutely. Right. Sometimes we do get
the joy of having the older dogs back into training too.
S2 (19:04):
One of the types of volunteer roles that we're looking
at at the moment, at seeing our dogs, is to
help your training program dogs. What happens to the dogs
when they're not in training usually, or the two kind
of main options, I guess.
S4 (19:16):
Yeah. So the dogs, um, that come into training full
time training is, um, they will be working with one
of our trainers or instructors. Um, and they're training Monday
to Friday, just like school. They usually go out for
1 or 2 sessions during the day. When a dog
is not training. If they're based in Victoria, then they're
either placed in our kennel facility here in Kensington and
(19:39):
they do lots of different types of activities outside of training,
and they stay in kennels. Otherwise, um, the other option
is for the dogs to stay with a foster carer
so that they stay in a home. And then they
come in each day for school and they get picked
up and dropped off so that they train until Monday
to Friday. And then on the weekends they get to
(20:02):
hang out at home.
S2 (20:03):
For those particular dogs who are in trained or care or,
you know, they benefit from that. What are the particular
reasons why you might run that program?
S3 (20:12):
Yeah.
S4 (20:12):
Look, sometimes, um, dogs do better in a home environment. Kennels,
there's lots of different dogs and lots of different activities,
so there just might be a dog. We want all
our dogs in training to have a really nice and
good experience, and that they're, um, in a great mindset
to learn. There's a lot of things that they need
to learn. So for that we like to facilitate the
(20:33):
best possible learning environment. And so for some of dogs
that is being in a in a home environment with somebody, uh,
sometimes there might be certain things that we're looking at
with the dog, um, in a home, we might be
looking at a client, for example, that has children and
maybe their puppy carer didn't have children, but we might
like to see how they go in a home with
(20:54):
a with a child. So sometimes it might be that
their best environment is at home and they stay their
whole training with one of our lovely carers. Or it
might be shorter periods of time that we are looking
for foster carer to look after one of the dogs
in their home.
S2 (21:10):
And I guess for that kind of purpose, it's really
good to have a variety of different people. So like
you said, if they do, you know, need to trial
out life with kids or life with a cat or
something like that, that they've got that practice in that
one specifically.
S4 (21:22):
Yeah, absolutely. We love having all sorts of different people
and all sorts of living situations work. I'm fine for
being a training dog foster carer, and one of the
things we do ask for the caring role. At the
moment there is two that we're looking for. One is
somebody who either works or lives close to Kensington that
(21:43):
is able to pick up and drop off Monday to
Friday at our headquarters here. So that would be dropping
off anywhere from 7 to 8:00 in the morning, just
like school before a school run. Um, and then picking
them up anywhere after 3:00 to 6:00, 630 is fine
to come and pick them up. And it's kind of
(22:03):
like a bed and breakfast situation. You just provide that
and a relaxing, calm home environment for them when they're
not training, and then they stay with you during the
weekends as well. The other type of care we're also
asking for as well is the type of care is.
Once our dogs finished training, for whatever reason, they may
not go straight away to their client. So we have
(22:28):
periods of time where that dog might need care for
a month or two months, or even sometimes longer, while
they're waiting for either a client match, or they're waiting
for their client program to to start. So that caring role,
that person can be kind of anywhere in Victoria and
that they're able to have them full time. So it's
the luxury of having an adult dog fully trained, um,
(22:51):
and that you can open your home to them and
have them then full time. So that one would require
the ability, if you're working to be able to take
the dog to work with you or just be, yeah,
be able to have them at home.
S2 (23:04):
When you say anywhere in Victoria, I'm assuming that's kind
of limited to some of the caring regions, you know,
like our kind of Melbourne surrounds.
S4 (23:12):
Melbourne. Yeah. Melbourne.
S2 (23:14):
Um, kind of roughly.
S4 (23:15):
Where or where our other, um.
S2 (23:18):
Like, puppy caring runs or.
S4 (23:19):
Yeah. Yeah. And look with that type of if they're
waiting for client programs. They do. We do do generally
ask that they come in once a month. So it's
just being having the ability to be able to drop off.
Or we can get a volunteer driver to come and
pick them up. So they come in for what we
call training, maintenance, guide, work, walk once a month just
(23:40):
to make sure we're ensuring that their skills stay nice
and sharp for when they're being placed with a client.
S2 (23:46):
And so those placements might be kind of anywhere between
potentially a few weeks to a few months long.
S4 (23:52):
Correct. Yes. Yep.
S2 (23:54):
And in terms of the training dog foster care is that,
you know, what would be the kind of length of
time commitment that you'd be looking for that.
S4 (24:01):
Look, if they're able to to commit to that dog's training,
which it's amazing. So that would be 4 to 5
months at a time if you're not able to commit
to that long. Um, usually our carers just let us
know how much availability they have, and we then might
utilize them in a way that maybe it's that, like
(24:22):
I said, that we're seeing how they go with young
children and it's a shorter stay type situation. So we're
really open to having a chat with people and what
they're might be open or available to provide. And we
can kind of have a nice, good open chat about
what might work for us. Yeah.
S2 (24:37):
One of the things that we'd probably want to consider
is at least you probably want to be, you know,
helping out in some way for, you know, a year
or so in total or something like that. You know,
you want to have a few placements, don't you?
S4 (24:48):
Look, ideally. Yeah. Yeah. I think lots of our foster
carers have looked after multiple dogs in training, so and
then they might have a period of time where they're
not able to and then they've got availability again.
S2 (24:59):
Yeah.
S4 (25:00):
Yeah.
S2 (25:00):
What are the kind of responsibilities that a carer, you know,
potentially on the weekends might be having to do.
S4 (25:06):
Because they've been trained during the day. They don't actually
need to take them out for walks. But you can
we just say kind of once every second day is fine.
That's all they kind of need. The individual instructor or
trainer who's working with that dog will be able to
give that person a lot of information directly about that
individual dog, but they do need not as regularly as puppies,
(25:28):
but they do need frequent toilet opportunities. So we ask
that all training dogs are toilet on lead, so that's
taking them out at least every couple of hours for
a toilet opportunity on lead or before a walk. Then
we also ask that they're they're somewhat supervised around the home.
We give you some strategies of how to manage them
(25:49):
around the house. Um, so we do like for people
to be able to maintain their training and reinforce nice
manners around the house, because that's also really important for
our clients. So they're the three main things. The other
is also being able to feed them. Usually a lot
of our dogs are on a morning feed and an
afternoon or evening feed. Yeah.
S2 (26:09):
And I guess then just kind of giving them a
bit of love, a bit of whatever downtime that they
require to kind of get them happy and healthy throughout
the week.
S4 (26:16):
Exactly. Yeah. And most of the time, don't be surprised
if they're actually quite tired after a full day of learning,
just as kids are. It's really having a restful place
to be able to spend time.
S2 (26:28):
And you've mentioned and have kids and you can have
other animals. Is living in an apartment the same thing?
Is that okay?
S4 (26:34):
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. As long as it's safe and secure,
that's all that we are.
S2 (26:39):
Is there anything else that we've missed about either of
those two roles that would be good for people to
know about?
S4 (26:44):
Yeah. Look, I think if people are coming through Kensington
area or even close by, if and even if they're
not working or living, um, have a think about it
because it is a pick up and drop off kind
of situation. So if you happen to be in every
day work like this kind of arrangement might work quite nicely.
They're all lovely dogs. They're all in in training. I
guess one of the perks of this type of role
(27:06):
is that they're all adult dogs, so it's a little
bit different than having a tiny puppy, but there is
still some kind of level of management or guidelines that
we need for them as as a seeing eye dog
that's going to go on to support somebody to live
the life they choose. Something else that I probably should
mention on that is that we do have a contact person. Um,
(27:27):
her name is Leanne, who's our main contact person for
all of our training dog foster carers. Um, so there
is somebody, um, directly that people can get in touch
with regularly if they've got questions. And also we're starting
up some monthly sessions that is an optional at front
based from Kensington for all our training dog carers and
(27:47):
carers that have the dogs between training and being placed
with a client is a session on a weekend, on
a Saturday that people are welcome to come in. Um,
that will be run by one of our amazing trainers, Jack,
and he'll be available to answer questions and also just
run through some handling. And just like a group kind
of situation where you'll be able to meet other training
(28:08):
dog carers and go through some things, questions or some
handling of the dogs.
S2 (28:14):
Yeah, I was going to ask about what training was
provided or experience was required on that one. So you
don't need very much because you kind of are going
to get the support as well.
S4 (28:22):
Yeah. And so if people have never done a caring
role for us before and never had any of our
puppies or dogs before, um, Jack would be able to
have a chat with you about that. He'd also come
out to do a visit in your home just to, again,
make sure that it's safe and secure. He'd be able
to provide you with detailed information and just run through
(28:44):
some of the things that we've spoken about. And then
he'd also be able to provide you with a session
just teaching you how to walk the dog, feed some
of that toileting so that you experience it might not
be with a dog that you're actually caring for, that
he'd be able to run through those things so that
you get to experience it and ask questions upfront before
the dog that you would be caring for comes home.
S2 (29:07):
Lots to think about for that role. Sounds like a
really good volunteering role, and a really nice option for
someone who doesn't quite want a puppy, but can still
contribute in some way to seeing our dogs. So thank
you for coming on the show talking about training dog care.
S4 (29:19):
Thanks so much for having me, Harriet.
S2 (29:28):
You've been listening to the Seeing Eye Dog show on
Vision Australia Radio. I hope you enjoyed my interviews with
Liv Butcher, our volunteer partnerships coordinator, and Kylie Gersh, our
training program manager. If you'd like to find out more
about seeing eye dogs, the work we do, or how
you can help, or becoming a client, head to Sydney, Australia.
You can also give us a ring on 1800Â 037Â 773. That
(29:52):
number again 1800Â 037Â 773 or email us at info at. Thank
you for listening and don't forget to tune in. Same
time next week for another episode of The Seeing Eye
Dog Show.
On Vision Australia Radio. You're listening to the Seeing Eye
Dog show with me, your host, Harriet Moffatt. Today I'm
joined by two guests. The first is Live Butcher Seeing
Eye Dogs volunteer partnership coordinator. That means she looks after
all of our lovely volunteers across Seeing Eye dogs. And
we're going to be talking about volunteering the roles that
we have, how our volunteers help us, and what some
(00:32):
of our caring roles are. And then I'm going to
be joined by training manager Kylie Gersh, who's going to
be talking to us more specifically about training dog care volunteers.
We're looking for training dog carers at the moment, so
we're going to be talking a bit about that role
and what that entails. So without further ado, I'm going
to kick off with my first interview for today, which
is with live!
S2 (01:00):
High live. Thanks for joining me on the show today.
S3 (01:03):
Thanks for having me.
S2 (01:05):
Could you please start off by introducing yourself?
S3 (01:07):
My name is Liv and I am the Seeing Eye
Dogs Volunteer Partnerships coordinator. I've been in this role since
January 2024. However, I've been involved with seeing eye dogs
since 2018. Um, so seven years, um, when we first
started Puppy Caring. And we're now onto our 12th and
13th puppy that we're raising.
S2 (01:27):
Wow. 12th and 13th being, uh, two at the same time,
which is kind of wild.
S3 (01:33):
Yes, I do love, um, raising puppies. I'm kind of
addicted to it.
S2 (01:38):
So, so many of our volunteers at Seeing Eye Dogs
are volunteers. And, you know, I know that, um, you
very much live and breathe the program, as discussed. Could
you please summarize, um, I guess some of the many
types of caring, specific volunteering roles and what they mean?
S3 (01:53):
Sure. So, um, our most popular, caring role is caring
for a puppy that is eight weeks through to 12 months.
So that we call that our full time caring program. Um,
we also do offer a six month program, so where
you can look after a puppy from eight weeks, uh,
through to six months or six months through to 12. Otherwise,
we do have a training dog program, which involves providing
(02:16):
dogs that are in our formal training program, an opportunity
to switch off outside of the kennel environment and to
have some downtime in a, in a home. Um, this
program is for carers who do live close by to
our senior dog headquarters, uh, as it does require daily
drop off and pickup. And this program can be approximately
for four months. We do also offer that program within
(02:38):
New South Wales and Queensland. It does look a little
bit different where we have the instructors picking up the dogs,
but it's definitely something that we offer there as well.
We also do have a breeding program where we have
our breeding colony are out with our carers as well. Uh,
sometimes these dogs are with our carers for a number
of years, just depending on their progress throughout the program
(02:59):
and suitability as well. This is an opportunity for our
dogs in this program to again live in a home
and be cared for during the time when they are
creating our new generation or our next generation within these programs. Um,
our carers are providing a loving and welcoming home, um,
where they are able to be themselves, but at the
(03:21):
same time learn manners and, um, have exposure to social
situations that they may not be able to do so
in a kennel environment. It also allows our dogs to
live in different, um, situations, such as different housing and
different lifestyles as well also providing these families with the
opportunity to be involved in our program.
S2 (03:43):
And I spoke with Kylie recently about the training dog
Care program. She's also suggested that if you don't live
that close, but if you work close and you're happy to,
you know, drop them off. You know, maybe your kids
go to school near our Kensington site, or you have
an office in the city where you'll pass through. You know,
we're also very keen for you guys to get involved
in that way too, which I think is cool. So
(04:04):
another another one to note there.
S3 (04:07):
Absolutely. Yes. We you know, we do try and accommodate
everyone with one of our programs. So please, um, just
be in touch with us and we can definitely sort,
try and sort something out.
S2 (04:18):
So for all of our caring roles, do carers have
to have experience and do they have to pay for
the care of the dog, including, you know, food or
medical needs?
S3 (04:27):
So first of all, no, you do not have to
have any experience whatsoever. And that I think that is
one of the best parts about our program. So we
have people that have never had a dog in their home,
or exposure to a dog to people that have bred
and trained other breeds as well. So whether you are
at either extreme or in the middle somewhere, do not
worry because our team will provide you with hands on,
(04:50):
one on one training in addition to group training as well.
So you'll be learning from the subject matter experts on
our puppies as well as, you know, finding out a
little bit more as to why certain training builds those
stepping stones for the dogs when they go into formal training.
Our dedicated staff will provide you with all of the
necessary training. In addition to the training, we'll provide the
(05:12):
equipment that you'll need for your puppy, as well as
covering the costs of all medical bills, as well as
the food which has been kindly donated by Royal Cannon,
and also the parasite prevention tablets have been donated by Zoetis.
S2 (05:27):
So it's a really nice program if you know, I
guess one of the barriers for you is maybe thinking about,
you know, the cost of a pet dog, which, you know,
especially that's not just 16 years, but each each of
those types of things you don't have to think about.
So it's very nice and accessible for people who don't
want to put that money out to care for a
dog in their home. So for puppy caring, what are
the types of flexibility that we have that allow carers
(05:51):
to take puppies, even if, for example, they might work
and couldn't manage a baby dog. You know, I think
you mentioned a bit before about the six month program.
Can you tell us a bit about those?
S3 (06:00):
Yes. One of the things I've seen change within CNI
dogs over the last seven years is the different types
of programs, um, that senior dogs offer to allow people
in different circumstances to participate in our program. So we
talk about the six month program where you have a
pup going from eight weeks to six months with a carer,
(06:21):
and throughout that program they are taking the puppy out,
learning those toileting routines as well as, you know, general
home manners as well. So that alongside the pre started
program which involves puppies going to experience carers again for
those first 4 to 6 weeks outside of the CNI
dogs Puppy Centre allows carers who may not be in
(06:42):
a position to take the puppy into work. So, for example,
they may work in a high rise in the city.
So taking a puppy down from the 36th floor to
toilet every 45 minutes may not actually be possible, or
we also do have carers that live in apartments that
don't necessarily have a secure outdoor area because they may
again be on a high level. So taking the puppy downstairs,
(07:06):
particularly if it's still quite young and needing to toilet
throughout the night, it's not ideal. So we have our
carers that are in a position to be able to
do that part of the programme, and then allowing carers
who can then do the rest of the programme and
take those puppy through to formal training. As I said,
it allows these carers to be involved, gives them the opportunity,
(07:27):
doesn't discount them from being a part of puppy caring.
S2 (07:31):
And I think it is a really amazing kind of
point to note that, you know, not only is that
a bit of a team effort, you know, some of
the people, they just love that baby stage and they'll
do it 15 times over in a year and that's
like ideal for them. And then it means that someone,
for example, when I was a uni student, it was
not exactly the best thing to be taking a tiny
baby puppy on, you know, 2 or 3 forms of
(07:51):
public transport before getting to uni and being out all day,
but it provided a really good level of experience for
some dogs that then, you know, could go on and
have had experience in an environment like that. So very
much benefits the dogs that we have those different programmes to,
which is cool it does.
S3 (08:07):
And one of the things that we also do say
is that it takes a village to raise one of
these puppies. So very similar to that child mentality, you know,
raising within the family. These dogs are a part of
our family and that that includes the wider volunteer cohort.
So we all do step in and take turns in
helping out these puppies. And one of the six month
program options allows people to travel as well. So we
(08:30):
do have people that are fortunate to be traveling around Australia. So,
you know, they may just do six months and then
head off for their their six month vacation in the sun,
and then they return to start all over again.
S2 (08:43):
And so I guess we've kind of covered that. There
are some very varied backgrounds and lifestyles of these volunteers,
you know, what are some of the lifestyles of our
current current volunteers? And, you know, for example, can full
time workers or, you know, retirees, you know, families with
kids volunteer and you know, what type of workplaces that
do the pups go to?
S3 (09:03):
You're right. We have such a diverse range of demographic
within our program. So we do have young singles to
families with children of all ages. So we have actually
had carers in the past that have been pregnant throughout
their puppy caring and have, um, had the baby. And
so that child then grew up having a dog in
(09:24):
the home to retirees who are just enjoying the best
part of their lives as well. So, you know, we
don't really have a family unit or a lifestyle that
hasn't been covered. We actually then extend that out to
our workplaces. Again, very varied, um, where our puppies do go.
So just as an example, we have many puppies in schools,
(09:45):
office buildings, medical facilities and retail outlets, just to name
a few. So again, these provide different forms of distraction
training and settling training as well. And it's important to
understand that our clients live and work the same situations
that our carers do. So it's so valuable being able
to provide these puppies with opportunities to exposures of different
environments and lifestyles from a young age.
S2 (10:09):
Some of these people, I guess, have very varied hobbies,
whether those are and I've spoken to a few, um,
you know, puppy carers recently and the kind of structures
of their lives or the lack of structure in terms
of just doing all of these things, you know, how
do volunteers fit in caring roles along work and family
and hobbies?
S3 (10:26):
Many people think that puppy caring is onerous and it
takes away from their day to day activities such as
you've just outlined. But in fact, because our puppies are
so incredibly resilient and love to be out and about
with you, it makes the program a lot easier to
be incorporated into your lifestyle. The puppies go most places
with you, so there are only a few areas where
the puppies can't go, but otherwise they are welcomed into
(10:49):
areas when they've got their little jackets on. So the
puppies are also really proud when they're wearing their coats,
so they definitely want to show the world how lovely
they look in their coats and attending sporting matches. Going
out for coffee theatres or just doing the weekly grocery
shopping is really something that we can incorporate the puppies into.
As a part of my daily routine and as a
(11:09):
puppy carer myself, it's a part of my checklist when
going out the door, you know, checking. I've got my keys, sunglasses,
phone and puppy. So if I don't have my puppy,
I do feel a little bit that something is missing.
So it does become a part of your lifestyle very quickly.
And I guess to the fact that we are so
again fortunate to have our programs run over three different states.
(11:30):
It allows our carers to offer these puppies different experiences
along with their hobbies as well. So for example, we
have carers that live near the beach in the hustle
bustle of the CBD as well as suburban and rural areas.
So we have farmers and people that are hanging out
in the city doing everyday things, and the puppies can
(11:50):
just come along with them.
S2 (11:52):
Pilates. Pottery. Yes. Shopping. Shopping.
S3 (11:58):
There are so many things that I would actually take
up a lot of the radio time listing them all.
So it just goes to show that this program is
just so accessible for all.
S2 (12:10):
So our puppy caring trend or caring breeder caring roles
are a very large part of the volunteering roles, especially
hours that we do have at seeing eye dogs. But
it's not only those people taking care of puppies in
their own homes that make up our wonderful volunteers. What
are the non caring roles that we have at seeing
eye dogs?
S3 (12:29):
So we do have a variety of non caring roles
such as um driving sewers, admin assistants as well as
roles in our kennels and puppy centre as well supporting
the Seeing Eye Dogs team to provide a high level
of care for the dogs when they are boarding with us.
And I'm so incredibly grateful to have such an experienced
(12:50):
cohort of volunteers in our non caring roles. It is
just so valuable to have their time and dedication coming
on site to help out with that. We are currently
full with our rosters and with the exception for our drivers.
So if you are interested in helping us drive around
for us, please reach out and get in touch and
we'll be more than happy to, um, speak to you
(13:12):
further about that. If you are interested in one of
the other non caring roles, please again reach out to
us and we can put you on our waitlist for
when we do have a vacancy become available.
S2 (13:23):
And there's so much information on our website about all
of these volunteering roles too, so people can just, I guess,
have a read at their leisure and and reach out
to the team if they have any questions or are
interested in at some point, you know, when available, helping
us out?
S3 (13:39):
Yes, absolutely.
S2 (13:42):
So how does one apply for the caring roles are
we looking for for carer volunteers now.
S3 (13:48):
As you mentioned, please head straight to our website and
you'll find the application form online. You will then go
through the questionnaire. Our team will then be in touch.
And then we will start the compliance checks and then
home inspection from there. We are always looking for puppy carers.
We have litters born every month, so there's always puppies
needing loving homes to start their program, just as we
(14:09):
do have dogs that are graduating into the breeding program.
And then of course going into the training dog program,
as mentioned earlier as well. So the website will provide
you with a lot of information about the programs. Alternatively,
if you are looking maybe on seek or go volunteer,
they'll also have the application forms there as well. You
(14:30):
can also email us at volunteer at Vision Australia. Org
and we can provide you with some further information about that,
or you're most welcome to attend one of our information
sessions that we hold on a regular basis, where we
go through the whole program and you'll have staff and
experienced carers on there that can answer any of your questions.
(14:50):
So again, please head to our website which is Sydney, Australia,
and you will be able to register for the next
upcoming session.
S2 (15:00):
In summary, what do you think that volunteers get out
of the volunteer work that they do?
S3 (15:05):
They get opportunities to learn new skills and find out
more about the important work these puppies will do. For
a member of our blind and low vision community. They
will also get that increased sense of community with not
only your family and friends, but colleagues and that wider
volunteer cohort. I personally have made friends for life through
this program. I've learned so much more about what Vision
(15:27):
Australia does as a whole. Not just seeing eye dogs,
but for the puppy caring time that I have been
involved with. It's the reward of knowing that the love
and dedication that you put into these dogs will go
out to help a member of our blind and low
vision community to live the life that they choose, but
also it gives you a gorgeous puppy that will give
(15:48):
you the reason to get out and about. Um, you know,
you have many laughs and tears, um, of every milestone
that they do reach. But there's always that unconditional love.
So there's so much to gain from this program.
S2 (16:01):
And just to finish off, are there any messages that
you have for our current volunteers or for anyone who's
considering volunteering?
S3 (16:10):
Sure. I think first and foremost, I would sincerely like
to thank each and every one of the volunteers we have.
We currently do have over 840 amazing people that are
helping us with these dogs. So no matter which or
how many roles that you have with us, you will
hear us often say that we are so appreciative and
(16:30):
we thank you and we mean it from the bottom
of our heart because we could not do this without you.
I really would like to say anyone that is considering
coming to volunteer with us. It is such a rewarding
experience in so many different ways, especially with a program
such as ours that you're seeing the results on a
daily basis as well, because the pups are in your
home or, you know, on a weekly basis when you
are volunteering on site. So we want to, as I said,
(16:53):
make sure all of our volunteers are offered the opportunity
to provide all the information that they are seeking prior
to them signing up as well. So we'll give you
as much support as you need, and that support will
always continue throughout your time with us. I think personally,
I'd just like to say volunteering has given me so
much more than I expected. Um, it's given me the
(17:14):
opportunity to be surrounded by like minded people, and I've
been afforded time with puppies who have given me a
boost when needed, and wonderful feeling of joy and happiness
when I see them reaching those milestones. Most importantly, it's
given my family and I the opportunity to give back
to the community to change people's lives who are blind
or have low vision. Some we will never meet. Some
(17:35):
we have been fortunate to meet, to live the life
that they choose. It's just been so incredibly rewarding.
S2 (17:41):
Well, thank you so much for coming on the show
to chat. All things volunteering live.
S3 (17:45):
You're very welcome. Thanks for having me.
S1 (17:53):
You've been listening to the Seeing Eye Dog show on
Vision Australia Radio. I hope you enjoyed my interview with
Liv Butcher, our volunteer partnerships coordinator. If you'd like to
find out about volunteering roles or anything else about seeing
eye dogs, the work we do, or how you can help,
head to our website at. Org. Now I'm going to
be joined by Kylie Gersh, our training program Manager at dogs,
(18:16):
who's going to be talking to us specifically about training,
dog care and the life of our training dogs if
they are not in kennels throughout their period of training.
Thank you for listening and I hope you enjoy.
S2 (18:26):
Hi Kylie, thanks for joining me on the show today.
S4 (18:28):
Hi, how are you?
S2 (18:29):
What is your role? Just to start off.
S4 (18:31):
My role Seeing Eye Dogs is training program manager, so
I support the team who train adult dogs from anywhere
between 12 and 14 months old. They generally come in
for formal training up until around two years, two years old.
S2 (18:47):
And I guess occasionally you get the slightly older, you know,
returned from other programs like breeding type of type of
dogs as well. Just to to shout out to our
lovely older dogs.
S4 (18:57):
Yeah. Yes. Yep. Yeah. Absolutely. Right. Sometimes we do get
the joy of having the older dogs back into training too.
S2 (19:04):
One of the types of volunteer roles that we're looking
at at the moment, at seeing our dogs, is to
help your training program dogs. What happens to the dogs
when they're not in training usually, or the two kind
of main options, I guess.
S4 (19:16):
Yeah. So the dogs, um, that come into training full
time training is, um, they will be working with one
of our trainers or instructors. Um, and they're training Monday
to Friday, just like school. They usually go out for
1 or 2 sessions during the day. When a dog
is not training. If they're based in Victoria, then they're
either placed in our kennel facility here in Kensington and
(19:39):
they do lots of different types of activities outside of training,
and they stay in kennels. Otherwise, um, the other option
is for the dogs to stay with a foster carer
so that they stay in a home. And then they
come in each day for school and they get picked
up and dropped off so that they train until Monday
to Friday. And then on the weekends they get to
(20:02):
hang out at home.
S2 (20:03):
For those particular dogs who are in trained or care or,
you know, they benefit from that. What are the particular
reasons why you might run that program?
S3 (20:12):
Yeah.
S4 (20:12):
Look, sometimes, um, dogs do better in a home environment. Kennels,
there's lots of different dogs and lots of different activities,
so there just might be a dog. We want all
our dogs in training to have a really nice and
good experience, and that they're, um, in a great mindset
to learn. There's a lot of things that they need
to learn. So for that we like to facilitate the
(20:33):
best possible learning environment. And so for some of dogs
that is being in a in a home environment with somebody, uh,
sometimes there might be certain things that we're looking at
with the dog, um, in a home, we might be
looking at a client, for example, that has children and
maybe their puppy carer didn't have children, but we might
like to see how they go in a home with
(20:54):
a with a child. So sometimes it might be that
their best environment is at home and they stay their
whole training with one of our lovely carers. Or it
might be shorter periods of time that we are looking
for foster carer to look after one of the dogs
in their home.
S2 (21:10):
And I guess for that kind of purpose, it's really
good to have a variety of different people. So like
you said, if they do, you know, need to trial
out life with kids or life with a cat or
something like that, that they've got that practice in that
one specifically.
S4 (21:22):
Yeah, absolutely. We love having all sorts of different people
and all sorts of living situations work. I'm fine for
being a training dog foster carer, and one of the
things we do ask for the caring role. At the
moment there is two that we're looking for. One is
somebody who either works or lives close to Kensington that
(21:43):
is able to pick up and drop off Monday to
Friday at our headquarters here. So that would be dropping
off anywhere from 7 to 8:00 in the morning, just
like school before a school run. Um, and then picking
them up anywhere after 3:00 to 6:00, 630 is fine
to come and pick them up. And it's kind of
(22:03):
like a bed and breakfast situation. You just provide that
and a relaxing, calm home environment for them when they're
not training, and then they stay with you during the
weekends as well. The other type of care we're also
asking for as well is the type of care is.
Once our dogs finished training, for whatever reason, they may
not go straight away to their client. So we have
(22:28):
periods of time where that dog might need care for
a month or two months, or even sometimes longer, while
they're waiting for either a client match, or they're waiting
for their client program to to start. So that caring role,
that person can be kind of anywhere in Victoria and
that they're able to have them full time. So it's
the luxury of having an adult dog fully trained, um,
(22:51):
and that you can open your home to them and
have them then full time. So that one would require
the ability, if you're working to be able to take
the dog to work with you or just be, yeah,
be able to have them at home.
S2 (23:04):
When you say anywhere in Victoria, I'm assuming that's kind
of limited to some of the caring regions, you know,
like our kind of Melbourne surrounds.
S4 (23:12):
Melbourne. Yeah. Melbourne.
S2 (23:14):
Um, kind of roughly.
S4 (23:15):
Where or where our other, um.
S2 (23:18):
Like, puppy caring runs or.
S4 (23:19):
Yeah. Yeah. And look with that type of if they're
waiting for client programs. They do. We do do generally
ask that they come in once a month. So it's
just being having the ability to be able to drop off.
Or we can get a volunteer driver to come and
pick them up. So they come in for what we
call training, maintenance, guide, work, walk once a month just
(23:40):
to make sure we're ensuring that their skills stay nice
and sharp for when they're being placed with a client.
S2 (23:46):
And so those placements might be kind of anywhere between
potentially a few weeks to a few months long.
S4 (23:52):
Correct. Yes. Yep.
S2 (23:54):
And in terms of the training dog foster care is that,
you know, what would be the kind of length of
time commitment that you'd be looking for that.
S4 (24:01):
Look, if they're able to to commit to that dog's training,
which it's amazing. So that would be 4 to 5
months at a time if you're not able to commit
to that long. Um, usually our carers just let us
know how much availability they have, and we then might
utilize them in a way that maybe it's that, like
(24:22):
I said, that we're seeing how they go with young
children and it's a shorter stay type situation. So we're
really open to having a chat with people and what
they're might be open or available to provide. And we
can kind of have a nice, good open chat about
what might work for us. Yeah.
S2 (24:37):
One of the things that we'd probably want to consider
is at least you probably want to be, you know,
helping out in some way for, you know, a year
or so in total or something like that. You know,
you want to have a few placements, don't you?
S4 (24:48):
Look, ideally. Yeah. Yeah. I think lots of our foster
carers have looked after multiple dogs in training, so and
then they might have a period of time where they're
not able to and then they've got availability again.
S2 (24:59):
Yeah.
S4 (25:00):
Yeah.
S2 (25:00):
What are the kind of responsibilities that a carer, you know,
potentially on the weekends might be having to do.
S4 (25:06):
Because they've been trained during the day. They don't actually
need to take them out for walks. But you can
we just say kind of once every second day is fine.
That's all they kind of need. The individual instructor or
trainer who's working with that dog will be able to
give that person a lot of information directly about that
individual dog, but they do need not as regularly as puppies,
(25:28):
but they do need frequent toilet opportunities. So we ask
that all training dogs are toilet on lead, so that's
taking them out at least every couple of hours for
a toilet opportunity on lead or before a walk. Then
we also ask that they're they're somewhat supervised around the home.
We give you some strategies of how to manage them
(25:49):
around the house. Um, so we do like for people
to be able to maintain their training and reinforce nice
manners around the house, because that's also really important for
our clients. So they're the three main things. The other
is also being able to feed them. Usually a lot
of our dogs are on a morning feed and an
afternoon or evening feed. Yeah.
S2 (26:09):
And I guess then just kind of giving them a
bit of love, a bit of whatever downtime that they
require to kind of get them happy and healthy throughout
the week.
S4 (26:16):
Exactly. Yeah. And most of the time, don't be surprised
if they're actually quite tired after a full day of learning,
just as kids are. It's really having a restful place
to be able to spend time.
S2 (26:28):
And you've mentioned and have kids and you can have
other animals. Is living in an apartment the same thing?
Is that okay?
S4 (26:34):
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. As long as it's safe and secure,
that's all that we are.
S2 (26:39):
Is there anything else that we've missed about either of
those two roles that would be good for people to
know about?
S4 (26:44):
Yeah. Look, I think if people are coming through Kensington
area or even close by, if and even if they're
not working or living, um, have a think about it
because it is a pick up and drop off kind
of situation. So if you happen to be in every
day work like this kind of arrangement might work quite nicely.
They're all lovely dogs. They're all in in training. I
guess one of the perks of this type of role
(27:06):
is that they're all adult dogs, so it's a little
bit different than having a tiny puppy, but there is
still some kind of level of management or guidelines that
we need for them as as a seeing eye dog
that's going to go on to support somebody to live
the life they choose. Something else that I probably should
mention on that is that we do have a contact person. Um,
(27:27):
her name is Leanne, who's our main contact person for
all of our training dog foster carers. Um, so there
is somebody, um, directly that people can get in touch
with regularly if they've got questions. And also we're starting
up some monthly sessions that is an optional at front
based from Kensington for all our training dog carers and
(27:47):
carers that have the dogs between training and being placed
with a client is a session on a weekend, on
a Saturday that people are welcome to come in. Um,
that will be run by one of our amazing trainers, Jack,
and he'll be available to answer questions and also just
run through some handling. And just like a group kind
of situation where you'll be able to meet other training
(28:08):
dog carers and go through some things, questions or some
handling of the dogs.
S2 (28:14):
Yeah, I was going to ask about what training was
provided or experience was required on that one. So you
don't need very much because you kind of are going
to get the support as well.
S4 (28:22):
Yeah. And so if people have never done a caring
role for us before and never had any of our
puppies or dogs before, um, Jack would be able to
have a chat with you about that. He'd also come
out to do a visit in your home just to, again,
make sure that it's safe and secure. He'd be able
to provide you with detailed information and just run through
(28:44):
some of the things that we've spoken about. And then
he'd also be able to provide you with a session
just teaching you how to walk the dog, feed some
of that toileting so that you experience it might not
be with a dog that you're actually caring for, that
he'd be able to run through those things so that
you get to experience it and ask questions upfront before
the dog that you would be caring for comes home.
S2 (29:07):
Lots to think about for that role. Sounds like a
really good volunteering role, and a really nice option for
someone who doesn't quite want a puppy, but can still
contribute in some way to seeing our dogs. So thank
you for coming on the show talking about training dog care.
S4 (29:19):
Thanks so much for having me, Harriet.
S2 (29:28):
You've been listening to the Seeing Eye Dog show on
Vision Australia Radio. I hope you enjoyed my interviews with
Liv Butcher, our volunteer partnerships coordinator, and Kylie Gersh, our
training program manager. If you'd like to find out more
about seeing eye dogs, the work we do, or how
you can help, or becoming a client, head to Sydney, Australia.
You can also give us a ring on 1800Â 037Â 773. That
(29:52):
number again 1800Â 037Â 773 or email us at info at. Thank
you for listening and don't forget to tune in. Same
time next week for another episode of The Seeing Eye
Dog Show.
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