Queenslanders: we want you to be a puppy carer

The Seeing Eye Dogs puppy caring program is in Queensland – and we need you to join in on the fun and the fantastic rewards of caring for a potential seeing eye dog.

Senior instructor Jane Kefford and puppy and dog trainers Rob Cramer and Brendan Ainsworth established the new Seeing Eye Dogs training program in Queensland in November.

They need new puppy carers to help socialise the pups before their formal Seeing Eye Dogs training begins.

Seeing Eye Dogs covers all food, equipment and veterinary costs. Trainers provide regular support and offer group obedience sessions each month.

Puppy raisers must socialise the dogs fully, familiarising them with situations they will encounter if they become Seeing Eye Dogs for a person with blindness or low vision.
Volunteers must live in a house with a fenced yard, allow the pups to live and sleep inside, and must not leave the pups alone for more than three hours.

Brendan says Queenslanders benefit by giving local clients a Seeing Eye Dog that is used to the climate and the little differences that make Queensland unique.
The pups go back to Seeing Eye Dogs for training at 12 to 15 months of age.

“You’re helping the community. You’re giving someone the opportunity to have more freedom and independence in the future,” he said.

“You’re developing a bond and teaching that puppy about life, because everything to a puppy is new.”

“The idea is that the puppy raisers socialise the puppy everywhere that it might go as a working Seeing Eye Dog – shopping centres, public transport, car travel, little shops, supermarkets – so that when we get them at 12 to 15 months, we can focus on teaching them the guiding role."

The puppy carer program is available to south-east Queensland residents, from Burleigh Heads to Noosa. Contact us today!