Rosie Batty meets Luke, the Seeing Eye Dogs' pup named after her son

      

One day, Luke the Seeing Eye Dog puppy is going to change someone’s world.

This week, he had a visit from someone who’s already changing the world – former Australian of the Year and family violence campaigner Rosie Batty.

Luke, a Labrador pup and future Seeing Eye Dog, was named in honour of Rosie’s late son Luke.

At 12 months old, Luke is about to begin up to six months of intensive, full-time training with Seeing Eye Dogs.

Luke has spent most of his life so far with his foster family in the Seeing Eye Dogs Puppy Caring program.

If he succeeds in his training, he will be carefully matched to a person with blindness or low vision, giving that person the gift of independence.

Rosie first saw a picture of Luke as a small puppy.

She caught up with a much bigger, more mature Luke at the Seeing Eye Dogs headquarters in the Melbourne suburb of Kensington on Thursday, 12 January.

For more about what it takes for a pup like Luke to become a Seeing Eye Dog, and how you can help another dog open up new worlds for a person with blindness or low vision, go here: http://seda.visionaustralia.org/

For more about Rosie’s work, go here: http://www.neveralone.com.au/