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When Lynn Potter first applied for a Seeing Eye Dog, she was scared to leave the house.
Lynn is blind as a result of a rare form of retinal dystrophy and was paired with her first Seeing Eye Dog, Norma, in 2011 after her vision had significantly deteriorated.
Lynn and Norma worked together until 2019 when Norma retired. After a short wait, she was paired with Seeing Eye Dog Hector, and the pair have taken life on since then.
“In 2011 I was matched with Norma and that meant I could relax about things. She is a socialite and very friendly, but she was slowing down a bit,” Lynn said.
“I put name down for another Seeing Eye Dog in August 2019 and got Hector in 2020. He’s really good. He likes to please,” she said.
With Hector being Lynn’s second Seeing Eye Dog, the pair have wasted little time in getting out and about and have travelled to many of Western Australia’s favourite attractions.
“We go to church, we do the usual things like going to the local shops. We’ve been down to the Swan Valley to the wineries.
“He’s so good in the car you don’t even know he’s there. We go on trips down south to visit mum and dad stay and stay in a motel. We’ve got a trip to Albany soon too.
“Hector is quirky personified, he’s amazing and so obedient.”
As Lynn closes in on a decade of being a Seeing Eye Dog handler, she had some special words for the amazing community that supports the training and development of Seeing Eye Dogs.
“If it weren’t for donors and puppy carers we wouldn’t have dogs, so thank you very much keep doing what you’re doing. It makes such a difference to people’s lives.”
Seeing Eye Dog Hector has a special connection to the generous fundraising support Seeing Eye Dogs receives.
Seeing Eye Dog Hector is the namesake of Hector Volpi, husband of handler Monika Volpi who was the face of a successful fundraising campaign.
