Geelong’s community can help provide a brighter future for people who are blind or have low vision by donating to a paw-some appeal.
Petbarn Foundation’s Seeing Eye Dogs Appeal will run throughout the month and aims to raise enough money to fund the training of 22 seeing eye dogs during its 12th year.
Geelong’s seeing eye dog handler Linda Blaik said her black golden retriever Kevy was an intelligent dog who navigated her around busy areas and provided emotional support.
“If we can get more dogs out on the street that have the calibre of Kevy, then seeing eye dogs will rule the world,” she said.
“This dog has certainly given me much more independence than I’ve ever had. I’ve had dogs in the past, but nothing has compared to this dog.
“The minute that Kevy and I were together in Geelong; it was a match made in heaven, and you could tell that it was going to work pretty well from the start.”
Seeing Eye Dogs senior puppy trainer Kim Rulac said dogs helped break down social barriers for people living with disabilities and that it took close to two years to train a seeing eye dog.
“The need for seeing eye dogs is out there, and we just want everyone to have the chance to live an independent life and live the life they choose,” she said.
“We match them (seeing eye dogs) personality wise to a client… and that way both the client and the dog will get the best out of their team, and they’ll have a nice long working life with each other.”
Visit petbarn.com.au/services/pet-foundation for more information or to donate.
