Call for carers as puppy love falls in short supply

Andrew Mathieson
WANTED: Geelong puppy carers ready to train guide dogs for the blind.
Must provide safe home environment, be patient and disciplined and be prepared to take a Labrador pup anywhere and everywhere.
A commitment to full-time care is essential.
No out-of-pocket expenses required, with food costs and vet bills covered.
Seeing Eye Dogs Australia is making this urgent call after the Geelong region fell at least six puppy carers short.
And with a puppy boom on the way, plenty more help is needed.
General manager Lee Garwood expected six litters of more than 40 pups would be ready for new homes within the next two months.
“The demand for the blind is always growing, so we intend to produce more dogs,” he said.
“In Geelong we’re desperately looking for puppy carers.”
Mr Garwood said aspiring carers did not need previous experience with owning pet dogs.
The agency would provide training manuals and staff to monitor their dogs’ weekly progress, he said.
“By the age of 12 weeks, the pups should be able to eat on command and go to the toilet on command, so they have to reach a benchmark,” Mr Garwood said.
Blind Corio man Ian Westerland has benefited from seven seeing-eye dogs over the past 37 years, including three-year-old Wicket, who has been a part of his life for 15 months.
The dog guides him through heavy traffic, on and off public transport including aeroplanes and has been a “working companion” in his City Hall job.
“It’s the bond of friendship that develops between the dog and person that even allows the dog to do things far beyond what it is trained to,” Mr Westerland said.
Training would be more difficult without puppy carers, he said.
“We’d have to find another way to socialise the dog and acclimatise it to noises, people, other dogs.
“Puppy carers are those who provide the building blocks for a well-adjusted dog.”