0:10

On Fishing Australia radio. You're listening

0:13

to the Seattle show with me, your

0:15

host, Harriet Moffatt. Today I'm

0:17

joined by seeing Isaac's handler,

0:19

Kirsten Busby. We're going to

0:21

talk about her busy life with seeing other

0:24

Kimba their partnership,

0:26

and hear about the interesting word world

0:28

of an operatic soprano.

0:30

If you like music, seeing Eye

0:32

dogs, or both. Stay

0:34

tuned for this episode and to hear about

0:37

how this duet performs. Okay,

0:39

that was potentially a bit of a bad pun,

0:41

but I hope you'll forgive me and listen

0:44

for this great interview with Kirsten.

0:53

Hi, Carson. Thank you for joining me on the show today.

0:56

Hello. Could you please start

0:58

by introducing yourself? You know, what

1:01

do you do? Do you have any hobbies and interests?

1:04

Hi, I'm Kirsten Busby, and

1:06

I just want to

1:08

kind of jobs, if you would like

1:10

to think about it that way. So I'm

1:13

an operatic soprano, but when

1:15

I'm not singing at night time

1:17

during the day, I actually work as proofreader

1:19

for Vision Australia. Um,

1:22

beyond that, well, when I get a chance,

1:25

hobbies are reading, catching

1:27

up on sleep that I didn't get because

1:29

of all the muscles, um,

1:33

and generally just relaxing.

1:37

Is, is the opera kind of pretty

1:39

much most nights or,

1:41

you know, you have some sort of performance or rehearsals

1:44

or practice and then really

1:46

then you are working basically, you know, almost

1:49

two full time jobs.

1:51

Uh, yeah. So

1:53

at the moment I'm in a phase,

1:55

um, which I do not recommend for

1:57

the faint of heart, which is I'm currently doing

2:00

five operas at once, which

2:02

is a lot. So I'm six days

2:04

a week with that and then, thank goodness, my other

2:06

jobs three days a week. So

2:09

if I time it right, I get at least

2:11

one day off, but not at the moment.

2:14

Oh my gosh, I think you might need to buy

2:16

shares in coffee. If

2:20

you're if you're a caffeine drinker, I

2:22

feel like that's probably what's needed.

2:24

I think I actually might need

2:26

to do that because honestly, I

2:28

think I'm too far gone beyond that.

2:31

Oh my goodness me. And so yeah,

2:33

really after that, it it is very

2:35

much a case of kind of just relaxing. I suppose

2:38

you don't have too much downtime.

2:40

No, I, I really don't like

2:42

I suppose now because one of the shows that

2:44

I'm doing is performing this

2:46

month, in March that I,

2:49

um, actually get some days off, but.

2:52

How long that'll last, I don't know. Yeah.

2:55

Before the next one comes along.

2:57

Mhm. I'm not going up

2:59

to five again though. I think there

3:01

is a good number.

3:02

It's good I suppose it's good to know your, your

3:05

limits. And three already feels like quite

3:07

a large number if you ask me. Mhm.

3:10

Yeah. So yeah

3:12

I would agree.

3:13

Not not. Yeah. Because it's not not

3:15

just kind of doing the performances but it's all of the

3:17

prep and being able to kind of get there, then

3:19

memorize all the music. And um

3:22

I'm guessing on these ones as well. You've got, you know, stage

3:24

directions and all that type of stuff to think

3:26

about and remember to. Wow.

3:28

I absolutely do love it. But at the

3:30

same time, it also does make

3:32

my brain go very as I put

3:34

it sideways.

3:36

So you are also a seeing

3:38

handler. Could you please introduce your

3:40

seeing eye dog and tell us how long you've been working together?

3:43

So my seeing eye

3:45

dog is named Kimba. She is

3:48

a two year old female golden

3:50

lion and

3:53

and to put her personality

3:55

in a

3:57

brief summary, I would

3:59

say she can be quite

4:01

crazy at times, but she is very sweet.

4:04

Do you think that that's like something that

4:06

you'd also describe yourself as? Sometimes I

4:08

feel like when people say, oh, that my senior dog is

4:10

a bit like is a bit, you know, hectic or crazy.

4:12

They often also admit to being

4:14

that is that, you know, something that you'd

4:17

agree with or.

4:17

No, I suppose I would

4:19

slightly admit to the, um, craziness,

4:22

but luckily for me, her

4:24

crazy allows her to keep up with my schedule.

4:28

So the matching process worked in that way.

4:30

Yeah, it really did. It

4:32

really, really did. Cause one

4:35

of Kimball's favorite activities I should

4:37

mention is she loves to run, which

4:39

I don't, but

4:41

it works very

4:44

well because, um, to

4:46

describe it for your listeners, especially

4:48

for those who aren't Sydney based, we have

4:50

a big train station that's called Central Station

4:52

and it's huge. There's 25 train platforms.

4:56

Plus, I think later on this

4:58

year there will be two more Metro train platforms. So

5:00

it's massive. And

5:02

um, sometimes

5:04

to get from one rehearsal,

5:07

we have rehearsals in Sydney and Newcastle. So we

5:09

have to go through Central Station and

5:11

it'll be like say five

5:13

past and the train's leaving at quarter past.

5:16

We get up the elevator, it's like seven

5:18

minutes past, so you don't have a lot of time to

5:20

get from platform 12, which

5:22

is the end of the intercity concourse to,

5:26

uh, usually platform 7 or 8, which is where

5:28

the Newcastle train leaves from. So

5:30

sometimes I'll turn around to Canberra. Go. All

5:32

right, Kimba, we're not missing this train. And this

5:34

dog will literally run

5:37

with me so we can catch the train streaking

5:39

across central Station into the city

5:41

concourse.

5:42

And is she like, is she still kind of doing obstacle

5:44

avoidance like that? Yeah.

5:47

I mean, wow, that's

5:50

quite impressive. If so, she just blows

5:52

up. It's like fun and speed.

5:53

Straight back up.

5:54

Again. Yeah. She's like, okay, we're going to switch

5:56

gears now. Um, yeah. So

5:58

keep up please. Yes. Pretty

6:01

much. So how

6:03

long have you been a dog guide handler

6:05

for? Is she your first dog?

6:08

Uh, so, no, Kimber is not

6:10

my first dog, but she is my first from

6:12

seeing eye dogs. I had a guide

6:14

dogs dog by the name of Violet before

6:17

her, and I was first matched with Violet

6:20

in 2016, November. So

6:23

just over seven years, I've been a dog handler.

6:26

If you kind of, um, I

6:28

suppose, look back on it. Was there anything that

6:30

made you, you know, decide specifically

6:33

to become, um, a dog guide user

6:35

and I guess, or, and

6:37

or, like, reapply

6:40

or apply for another dog once

6:42

you realize that Violet was ready to retire.

6:45

Um, so

6:47

I'm actually going to go back and start with Violet

6:49

because I'm actually

6:52

quite a lot younger than most think. And I was

6:55

still in year 11 when I was, I

6:57

was matched with Violet. So

7:01

I that time I had two

7:03

options. I either became

7:05

a dog guide handler then. Or

7:08

I waited 3 to 4 years

7:10

because we were about to do an interstate move.

7:13

So we

7:15

sort of had that option of, well, we've got one more

7:17

year in Canberra. Do we match you now

7:20

or do you wait a good 4 or 5

7:22

years before? You

7:24

go. To be

7:26

matched with your first dog. So that was

7:28

a decision we made to match

7:30

me whilst I was still in Canberra.

7:32

And while I still knew everything

7:35

so I'd still have. The

7:37

mobility and confidence that when

7:41

it came to going to uni, I

7:43

was just able to go in and do that. And

7:45

then.

7:46

And was you in Canberra or was that when, you

7:48

know.

7:49

That was in Newcastle? Oh,

7:51

right. So my

7:53

parents and the rest of my family,

7:55

we all did an interstate move at that point.

7:58

Just before I started uni. So

8:02

I suppose my parents had to make that

8:04

choice. Well, do we give you that independence

8:06

now or do we wait? And that was a hard

8:08

thing because of course, being under 18, there's

8:11

all the extra things you have to go through being

8:13

still under age. Rot

8:16

means that you can't get health insurance

8:18

for doggos, but that's a whole nother

8:21

kettle of fish. It would take a whole nother

8:23

podcast.

8:24

But but I suppose from your point

8:26

of view, kind of going into it with the most

8:28

confidence possible, going into uni with the most

8:30

confidence possible. You know, I think,

8:33

you know, if you if it's something that you wanted,

8:35

you know, navigating uni with the cane would be quite

8:37

challenging. I mean, I'm sure with the dog too,

8:39

but um.

8:40

It was less challenging having Violet

8:43

do it than it was with the cane, because

8:45

what ended up happening was

8:48

that my uni campus,

8:51

there was sort of two buildings,

8:53

but there were also ends of a street.

8:56

So you had to basically walk up the street

8:59

to get to the uni campus.

9:02

Yeah. Which made things

9:04

be interesting. But then as I got

9:07

more into my degree and then started

9:09

my diploma, I was going across two

9:12

sort of campuses. So

9:15

it meant learning all of that and doing

9:18

one of the other campuses with the cane would have been

9:20

almost impossible. Once

9:23

Violet was sick and I had to do it and oh,

9:25

that was not easy.

9:26

So they're kind of solidified in your mind

9:29

why you're happy to continue with

9:31

with dogs.

9:33

That and at that point when

9:36

Violet was due to retire was,

9:39

well for me just

9:41

before I moved to Sydney from Newcastle.

9:44

So I was having to learn everything

9:46

on a cane, which it wasn't like I wouldn't have done

9:48

anyway, but at the

9:50

same time. And

9:52

being a full time cane user for me, especially

9:55

since I have other underlying conditions.

9:57

It made me very, very tired and

10:00

it meant that I

10:02

was just barely able to do anything. Like

10:04

I'd get to a certain point in the week and I would just

10:06

crash. I just. I

10:08

could not make plans.

10:11

Yeah. And I suppose for some people

10:13

they say like the kind of cane is the quite

10:16

mentally intensive to use, especially

10:18

in busier environments.

10:20

Yes, I would agree with that.

10:23

So what do you like about being a dog handler?

10:26

I suppose the, um, confidence.

10:29

It gives me a new environment because as

10:31

a senior, I get thrown into new environments

10:34

all the time. And

10:36

their environments, which I may come back to,

10:38

but it may be a year or more

10:40

since I've been there. Like I know, next

10:42

month I have to go back to a place, and I haven't been there since

10:44

August last year. So

10:48

it's not. And these dogs have

10:51

honestly memories like a steel trap.

10:53

I can take them to somewhere

10:56

once and then they'll know, okay,

10:58

this is where I want to go.

11:00

This is where I have to take my mom. And

11:04

it's just little things like that that

11:06

like it could be six months

11:08

or a year between something. And then we're coming

11:10

back. Like, I remember last year in November,

11:13

we'd gone back to a place that we hadn't been to

11:15

since July and came up. We go to

11:17

the staircase, we go down, we go to the right,

11:19

we go straight to the back, right hand corner. That's

11:21

our corner.

11:23

Wow. And and you just

11:25

kind of think, how do you know that? Like, how

11:27

do you remember of all the places that we've been to

11:29

in the last number of months? Yeah,

11:31

I think that sticks in your mind.

11:33

I know it's it's like, how

11:36

do you remember it when I barely do?

11:38

I'm still getting verbal instructions here

11:41

and you are dragging me off

11:43

leaving the support worker behind.

11:46

So I come. She's like, come on, mate, I've got this,

11:48

you know, just.

11:49

Yep, yep.

11:50

Okay. So

11:53

what are your favorite things about

11:55

Kemba. And I know we kind of briefly mentioned

11:57

probably the lifestyle thing. But other than that why

12:00

do you think you might have been matched.

12:02

I think her adaptability

12:04

would be the biggest one where

12:07

because I've virtually got no sight

12:09

and I get thrown into new environments

12:11

all the time, she's just here, like, okay,

12:14

here I am. I'm going to figure this out.

12:17

We'll get there. It'll be fine.

12:19

Nothing to worry about here, mom. Yeah.

12:21

And like, you can throw her into

12:23

just about any situation and she'll

12:25

come out the other side, tail wagging,

12:28

going, all right, next

12:30

challenge, please. And

12:32

that's the biggest thing that when

12:34

I went into this process and

12:36

I requested a dog, I said, look, I really

12:39

need a dog that is adaptable

12:41

and that can be thrown into situations

12:43

with minimal support. Because

12:47

I do not have enough sight to give that dog

12:49

the support. It's probably going to need if it needs

12:51

it. So, like my previous

12:53

girl, if it came to throwing herself

12:55

into a new situation where she

12:57

knew I wasn't going to be able to support her.

13:00

Then she'd be like, okay, here we

13:02

go. Let me just figure this out with you.

13:06

We're good now. Cool. Okay, we've

13:08

made it to the other end. Easy. I'll

13:10

just go sleep. So I suppose it's not

13:12

fazed that I really like about

13:14

her.

13:15

So you may not, I suppose, have a particularly,

13:18

um, typical, uh, typical

13:21

day because it sounds like you've got quite a

13:23

lot of variety. But if you're going to describe

13:25

a supposedly kind of typical day or typical week

13:27

of, um, you and Kimba, what would that be?

13:30

I suppose a typical day

13:32

I'm just going to go based on at the moment.

13:34

So typical day for us would be

13:37

getting up at whatever

13:39

time we get up and of course doing

13:41

all of our usual morning things.

13:43

And then we've even got. Um,

13:45

sometimes we got Jim got

13:48

work or we've got rehearsal. So

13:50

it really depends on what

13:53

the day looks like. For

13:56

us, but most of our activities

13:58

are. Yeah, gym work, rehearsal

14:00

appointments. You

14:03

name it, probably do it.

14:06

Hi. So? So. Yeah. That really. So really,

14:08

just a bit of everything. Yeah.

14:10

As required. There's.

14:12

Does she attend rehearsals and

14:14

performances that you do. And

14:16

how does she kind of find the music. Is she,

14:19

you know, kind of interested or, or

14:22

I guess maybe even used to it now.

14:24

Um, I would say when I first

14:26

started working with her, especially,

14:29

um, being soprano, she was very

14:31

like, what are you doing? Like.

14:35

And because I'm not exactly

14:37

quiet. None

14:40

of us opera singers really, are we? We

14:42

know how to predict. And

14:44

especially when we go up quite high.

14:48

It's quite different

14:50

for a dog. Like they'll look and they'll go. I

14:53

don't know whether I like that. But

14:58

I think now she's gotten very

15:00

used to it. Um, she does attend

15:03

pretty much all my rehearsals. Unless, of course,

15:05

she's gone for a walk. Well, I've

15:07

had singing lessons, got worn out and not moved

15:09

from her crate. Then

15:12

I did leave her home just late. But,

15:15

um. She's. I

15:17

think she got quite used to it quite quickly,

15:19

because her first rehearsal was a bit

15:21

of a baptism of fire. It

15:23

was a bunch of opera singers at full forte,

15:26

which is our really quite loud dynamic

15:28

and a conductor jumping on

15:31

floorboards, which

15:33

for a 16 month old puppy, which was

15:35

when I got her, is,

15:37

oh, it's a little overwhelming.

15:40

So we kind of took a little bit longer

15:42

at break so she could just recover.

15:44

So for her now, the singing side of it's

15:47

normal. As for performances,

15:49

sometimes we have a collapsible crate that

15:51

she'll never go in if she's not on

15:53

the stage or some shows, we will bring

15:55

her on the stage. It really just depends.

15:58

Like I know one

16:01

show, she'll probably go on for one half when I'm

16:03

performing, but she won't go on for the other

16:05

half. There'll be a couple

16:07

where she won't go on at all. And there is

16:10

one where she has been requested

16:12

to go on. And I'm

16:14

not upset about it, especially for the

16:16

instrumentation in the last scene.

16:20

Interesting. What's the kind of deciding

16:22

factor, whether it's a yay or nay?

16:26

That's really up to the directors.

16:29

Um, sometimes

16:31

I may

16:33

try and bring her close so

16:35

that way she can see, um,

16:38

but in the show where I would

16:40

have had to do that, I now don't have to

16:42

because they've requested her on stage. Kim

16:45

has not done too much on

16:47

stage because we actually learnt towards the end

16:49

of Violet's career that, um, people

16:52

looked at her on stage, especially if

16:54

I was doing solo performance more than, um, actually

16:56

listening to what

16:58

I was doing.

16:59

Yeah, because, well, I wondered if you had any

17:01

like, um, say like

17:04

any performances where there were animals in

17:06

the within, like the realm of

17:08

the story. So, like, you know, if there's any operas

17:10

where there's a dog in the,

17:12

um, narrative.

17:14

I wouldn't say like there's a dog

17:16

in the narrative with this one, but

17:18

given its setting, I'm

17:21

sure somebody bought the dog.

17:24

Um, but, um,

17:27

to keep it as non

17:30

dark as possible because it gets pretty dark.

17:33

Yeah. Um, basically

17:36

this upper set back in, um,

17:38

French Revolution. Um,

17:42

at the opera, there's just a whole bunch of

17:44

people who don't

17:46

end up getting out of things

17:49

very well. No, they don't make it.

17:51

Yeah.

17:52

They do not make it. So

17:57

and like, just based on its

17:59

historical context, we're like, surely

18:01

somebody bought the dog.

18:05

Yeah. The the opera is not

18:07

necessarily known for, um,

18:09

light and breezy and

18:12

happy endings from all life.

18:14

From all life. Um.

18:15

Sullivan. That's Gilbert and

18:17

Sullivan level or, um, Mozart's

18:20

in another one if you don't want to watch people dying.

18:22

Operas.

18:23

Yeah. So that's slightly lighter. To be fair,

18:25

that's not all. I mean, and do you have a particular

18:27

type that you perform within that genre?

18:30

Uh, the person who's still alive

18:33

at the end.

18:34

Ah, ideal. Yes. That that

18:36

does sound like a good tip. That's a good,

18:39

uh, good one.

18:41

Yeah. No, I'm out

18:44

of everyone. Um, because I

18:46

sort of went semi-professional at the beginning of last

18:48

year, and all my friends still

18:51

do not know how I've managed to go

18:53

this long without having a character not

18:55

make it.

18:56

Yeah, well, so you've not. You've never been killed

18:58

off in an opera? No.

19:00

Not yet.

19:01

That is actually very impressive. I

19:03

was thinking like, oh, you know, it's it's maybe, you know,

19:06

say if you've done 20 performances, you know, only

19:08

two of them have died or like, only four of them

19:10

died, and that would still be very impressive. None.

19:13

None.

19:14

Zero. Maybe you just have to likeable

19:16

a face that just decided, like, no, we can't

19:18

kill her off. It would just be too sad, you know?

19:22

Like, no, no.

19:23

But no, um, it's

19:25

really funny. It's now a running joke between

19:27

a friend and I that, um. I haven't

19:29

quite graduated to full operatic soprano

19:31

yet because I haven't actually died.

19:34

Oh, no, I think. Oh, yeah.

19:37

Sorry. Go on.

19:39

It's fairly normal for soprano characters

19:41

to end up.

19:44

Because they're kind of the heroine.

19:46

Yeah. Oh, they've come down with something.

19:50

Right? That makes sense. So

19:53

do you have? Have you had any kind of particular

19:56

best outings with Kimball

19:58

that you would like to tell us about?

19:59

Oh, I.

20:02

Oh, what are some of the best

20:04

ones we've had? We've had a few.

20:07

Um. That's

20:11

a hard one because we've had quite

20:13

a lot. But I think the ones where like. We've

20:16

just been able to enjoy

20:18

ourselves a lot when we've actually been on

20:20

stage together. That's been a good one.

20:23

Being able to be kind of up there performing together

20:26

is quite special.

20:27

Yeah it is. It

20:29

is. So even if she doesn't go on stage,

20:32

if she's there, even

20:34

side stage. It's

20:37

actually really sweet when, like, she

20:40

just comes and gets me and like,

20:42

we're just we're just there together.

20:45

But it also explains a lot to the audience

20:47

because of course, when I don't

20:49

have Kimble, it's a bit like I

20:51

have to be guided. So I'm using a cane

20:53

and it's like, not everyone might know.

20:55

What that means.

20:57

Yeah, they might go, oh, you know,

20:59

this, that and the other. You walk out there with

21:01

a seeing eye dog. It's like, oh.

21:05

Okay.

21:07

And that's why that character had a

21:09

white cane that didn't quite look like it fitted

21:11

fit in within the time period of the opera.

21:14

Yeah. Yeah.

21:16

So. Or like that's why

21:19

that character had to be, um, guided

21:21

because she actually couldn't see.

21:24

Yeah. How interesting.

21:26

So do you have any kind of exciting,

21:29

um, you know, plans for the future or trips

21:31

that you'd like to do together?

21:33

Oh, I think, um,

21:35

I'd really like to take, um,

21:39

Kimber sort of traveling more so, like,

21:41

I suppose we're starting to. Now,

21:44

I do remember we've recently

21:46

just come back from a trip to Melbourne,

21:48

where I was performing at, like, a charity event.

21:51

Um, finish that. Come back. And

21:53

I suppose I'd love to take her on more trips

21:56

around the place on a plane.

21:59

How was the first flight then that you took?

22:02

Oh, so that was to Brisbane. And

22:04

she was really, really good. I mean, the first time

22:06

I did give her carrots just to say, yes, this

22:08

is what I want. Yeah. The second time

22:10

I forgot the carrots, we gave her treats.

22:12

And then the last time we flew, which was to Melbourne,

22:15

I was like, okay, you

22:17

barely even woke up the treat last time. Let's

22:19

see how you go. And she just didn't even like up.

22:22

Amazing nap

22:24

time.

22:26

So I suppose that really gives you the confidence that,

22:28

you know, you can do that traveling,

22:30

even if, you know the plane trips maybe a little bit longer,

22:32

you know, Western Australia, you probably quite fine.

22:35

Yeah.

22:37

I don't think I'd have a problem flying home to

22:39

Perth at all.

22:40

So are there any funny memories

22:43

or stories that you'd like to share?

22:46

And one funny one is,

22:48

um. I don't know

22:50

how she discovered this, but at

22:52

work, we've got fencing that splits

22:55

the dog running from the ramp, and

22:57

it's got like, sort

23:00

of gaps in it. But unbeknownst

23:02

to us, until she actually managed to do this,

23:04

these gaps are just

23:07

big enough that Kimba can slip through.

23:10

Oh, and

23:13

she's not exactly like a tiny puppy. No

23:16

she's not.

23:17

That's the thing.

23:18

So? So she's freed herself, basically.

23:21

She basically, um. Because I told

23:23

her to wait, and she'd wait for a little

23:25

bit, and then she'd be like. But I

23:27

want to play. So next thing I

23:29

know, she'd be on the dog run with

23:32

the other dog because she'd slipped

23:34

her way through the fence.

23:36

You monkey.

23:40

Unfortunately. Unfortunately

23:43

for us, I think she's now caught

23:45

some of the other dogs to do that too.

23:49

Ah, so one smart one has

23:51

led the rest of them astray. She's like

23:53

the, um.

23:53

Yeah, yeah.

23:55

The cheeky sheep that the others will

23:57

now follow.

23:59

Uh, yes.

24:01

I feel like, you know, I feel like Fusion's really

24:03

property team might have, uh, have

24:05

a bit of work to do then, really,

24:07

don't they?

24:09

Yeah. Um. Right.

24:13

Because. Yeah, like, all the other

24:15

ones you do is someone will come

24:18

in and say hello to her and she'll just immediately

24:20

roll straight onto her back.

24:22

And we here I am.

24:27

And it's like, oh, but yes. No, I

24:29

definitely think, um, yes, the

24:31

fence is probably the funniest

24:34

one.

24:35

So just to kind of finish off, is

24:37

there anything that you would, um, like

24:39

to share with kind of donors, volunteers

24:42

or supporters of sing idols or even just the general public?

24:45

Um. So I think we missed out the donors

24:48

and volunteers. I just want to say, um,

24:50

thank you for supporting seeing

24:52

our dogs and the work that they do. Because

24:55

if it isn't for all

24:57

of you, people like myself

24:59

wouldn't have these crazy

25:02

but sweet puppies that we have.

25:05

And for the general public. He's

25:08

been one of the dogs around. We

25:11

just don't distract

25:13

it. The amount of times I get, like, the kissing

25:16

sound or the reach down

25:18

and pat, it's just like, I'm

25:20

just. I'm just trying to get to where I'm going. I

25:22

don't need my dog distracted right now.

25:24

Please, just just need to be safe.

25:26

Just need to arrive at my desk.

25:28

I just I'd just like to get

25:30

there in one piece, if that's okay.

25:34

Well, that's a really good message. And I think anyone

25:36

who's kind of. Yeah, probably seeing you guys

25:39

go across your station. It's,

25:41

um, it's really good for them to be aware that, you know,

25:43

it's it's not an appropriate time to, um,

25:45

to try and distract the dog.

25:48

Yeah. No, especially not when we're streaking between

25:50

platform 12 and platform eight, because we really

25:52

do need to catch train.

25:54

We've got we've got busy lives to lead, and

25:56

it's, uh. And it's time to

26:00

time. We don't feel.

26:00

Like waiting another hour for

26:03

a train.

26:04

No, no, no, the missing a train

26:06

is a special kind of sad,

26:09

sad disappointment.

26:11

Oh, missing the bus. Oh,

26:13

sorry. Equally sad.

26:15

Yeah. I mean and especially. Yeah. And like

26:17

you said, it's just a timetable dependent. If

26:19

you're waiting for longer

26:21

than like 20 minutes, it starts

26:23

to kind of make you lose your mind just a little bit if

26:25

you ask me. Yeah.

26:26

Yeah it does.

26:29

Well thank you so much for coming on the show

26:31

and talking, um, a bit about your life.

26:34

That's all right. And thank you for having this.

26:41

You've been listening to the Seeing Auto Show

26:43

on Vision Australia Radio. I hope

26:45

you enjoyed my interview with Kirsten,

26:47

talking about the life of a single handler,

26:50

and what it means to have a

26:52

single dog as an operatic soprano.

26:54

If you're blind, or have low vision and would

26:56

like to find out if a single dog or dog

26:58

guide mobility is right for you,

27:01

please give our friendly team a

27:03

call on 1800 037 773.

27:07

That number again 1800 037 773

27:12

or email us at info Asda

27:15

for you to

27:17

chat with a member of our team. We

27:19

are really happy to talk all things eligibility

27:22

and assessment with you. So if you're

27:24

interested in a whether a single dog is

27:26

helpful, just give us a call. No

27:28

obligation. We are also

27:30

on the lookout for amazing volunteers

27:33

to take a puppy into their home again.

27:36

That program is our Puppy Carer volunteering

27:38

program for 6 to 12

27:41

months, so you can have the puppy the full

27:43

time or half

27:45

of that journey, which is pretty cool.

27:47

So if you are in parts of

27:50

Victoria, Queensland and New

27:52

South Wales, we're looking for volunteers.

27:54

All of the information about that

27:56

program is available on our website

27:58

at C Division

28:01

Australia. Org and we

28:03

would encourage you to attend an information

28:05

session where you can find out all about puppy

28:07

caring. If you are

28:10

keen on finding out more about seeing

28:12

eye dogs, the work we do, or how you

28:14

can help, you can also head to that website

28:16

at Cedar Vision Australia.

28:18

Org or don't forget to follow

28:20

us on social such as Instagram

28:22

and Facebook for more great seeing

28:25

eye dog and dog puppy content.

28:27

Thank you for listening to the Seeing

28:29

Eye Dog show and I

28:31

hope you have a great week!