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Growing up on a dairy farm, Monica Kervin, of Collingwood, has always had dogs in her life.
Seven years ago, she turned her attention to puppy caring for Vision Australia Seeing Eye Dogs.
Her current pup, Trixie, is the eighth that she has cared for full time since becoming a puppy carer.
“Puppy caring is something I first heard about when I was a kid growing up. I wasn’t in a position to do it then, but it was always something I’d thought of doing one day,” she says.
When she began her career as a kindergarten teacher, Monica made sure that her students got involved with Seeing Eye Dogs:
“I started doing a sponsoring program with my students. We’d sponsor a dog, raise some money, and send it in,” she says
“In 2011, I asked the senior staff at the school if they would be happy for me to be a puppy carer – of course I brought a puppy in with me! The response was considerably more positive than I had anticipated.”
Monica then approached the parents of her students and they were absolutely delighted at the idea.
“There wasn’t a single negative response from the initial bunch of parents. Just things like ‘Oh wow!’ and ‘That sounds great!’ They really got on board with the idea.”
As someone that has been a volunteer puppy carer for Seeing Eye Dogs for the past seven years, Monica has had to deal with just about every situation that a carer could find themselves in.
She maintains that it gets easier the more you do it, but no two dogs will ever be the same:
“Every puppy is different but there is plenty of help from the expert puppy development trainers from Seeing Eye Dogs.”
Vision Australia Seeing Eye Dogs is faced with too many puppies and not enough carers.
The most common issue that Seeing Eye Dogs face in terms of finding puppy carers, is that there is a strongly held belief that giving the puppy back after spending so long with it is difficult. It is, but the rewards are definitely worth considering.
“I can understand why people would think it’s hard to give them back, but you want them to succeed and to do what they’re trained for. You know that they will make a huge difference and provide independence to the life of someone who is blind or has low vision. And, when you meet someone who has a working dog, and see the difference it’s made in their lives, that’s the real reward.”
An information session about puppy caring will be held at 17 Barrett Street, Kensington, on Thursday, 31 May, from 6:00pm to 7:00pm. To book a place, email [email protected] or phone 1800 03 77 73.