Mitcham boys love to care

For the Hamilton family, of Mitcham, caring for a future Seeing Eye Dog has been an enlightening experience.

Cindy Hamilton said they had decided to take on a Seeing Eye Dog puppy for the first time this year.

"The kids love Ukko, it's fantastic," she said.

"I've got three boys and it's really fantastic to teach them about living with a dog, and teaching them about giving to the community."

She said Ukko's presence had brought more activity to the household.

"He comes to work with me at Swinburne TAFE, he comes to all the kids' activities with us, and we also participate in SED training once a month.

"The SED co-ordinator also comes out weekly or fortnightly."

They will have Ukko for 12 months before he returns to SED for training.

With the waiting list for vision-impaired people to gain Seeing Eye Dogs being longer than a year, SED desperately needs more people to become temporary puppy carers.

All costs are covered by SED.

Source: Whitehorse Leader