0:10

On this episode of The Single Dog Show on Fishing

0:12

Australia radio and podcast. I'm Harry Moffatt,

0:15

your host, and I have two features to share with

0:17

you. First, I'm joined by

0:19

seeing puppy carer Angelica with puppy

0:21

Kurup. Angelica and Kurup are

0:23

one of our first Poppy and Cara teams based in

0:25

Sydney, so we're going to talk about what

0:27

it's like raising a puppy there, Angelica's

0:30

life, raising a puppy in an apartment and

0:32

how she puppy cares whilst working as a music

0:34

teacher and acting coach. Then I have

0:36

some very exciting news to share with

0:38

our listeners about our canine co-host Iris,

0:41

who has been part of this program, albeit

0:43

silently and in the background since

0:45

January of 2022. Stay

0:48

tuned for our update on Iris and her singing

0:50

Idol journey. And now here's my

0:52

interview with Angelica. Hi,

1:00

Angelica, thank you for joining me on the show today.

1:03

Thank you for having me.

1:05

So you are a first time

1:07

puppy carer. Could you please introduce

1:10

yourself or can we talk a little bit about,

1:12

um, yeah. The life of a puppy carer.

1:14

Right. Yes. Well, as you said, my

1:16

name is Angelica. I'm a singing acting

1:18

coach, and I live in the North Sydney area.

1:21

Uh, first time puppy carer. And

1:23

my puppy is five months old.

1:26

And my son, who's 20

1:28

years old, is a co carer. So

1:31

there is two of us, which is great.

1:33

Was that always the plan for him to kind

1:35

of get on board as a as a co

1:37

carer.

1:39

Um, yeah, I mean, I from

1:41

the beginning I was thinking, right, I want him

1:43

to be on board. So that happened fairly

1:45

quickly. Uh, and

1:48

I was thinking, you know, he would the

1:50

puppy would perhaps go to

1:53

university with my son, for example.

1:55

Yeah. Uh, but it does mean that my son can

1:58

can take him out in public, which

2:00

is great.

2:01

Has he taken care up to uni

2:03

yet?

2:04

He hasn't yet. Uh, the plan

2:06

was always for it to be 2024.

2:10

Yeah. Uh, and here it's very, um, very

2:12

good on public transport and

2:14

getting out and about and around.

2:16

Uh, so I think he would be perfectly good

2:18

at uni now. So I'll keep you posted

2:20

on that one.

2:21

Oh how exciting.

2:23

Yeah. It is, it's really exciting. And,

2:25

uh, I think, um, but, you know, my son

2:27

Elijah, he's just helpful, even

2:29

just for toileting. It's it's such a

2:31

great thing to have someone else, uh,

2:34

to help and be part of the

2:36

puppy journey.

2:38

And and sometimes just the actual

2:40

extra pair of hands is quite nice to have,

2:42

I think.

2:43

Absolutely. This is exactly, exactly

2:46

right. It's, um, fantastic to

2:48

have that other person.

2:50

Um. And Elijah, of course, absolutely

2:52

loves ketchup. Um,

2:55

yeah.

2:55

So are they best friends? Do you like competing

2:57

for love? Uh,

3:00

I think it's quite funny.

3:02

We're not competing for love.

3:05

Um, Kip loves us both.

3:07

I think he does care. Leans towards

3:09

me. Definitely. Uh,

3:11

and Elijah is okay with that? Uh,

3:14

but I do do the lion's share

3:17

of of everything. Uh,

3:19

but Elijah, as I said, is excellent.

3:21

Excellent. So you've

3:23

kind of mentioned your your public

3:26

hearing that this is the first time. How long have you

3:28

been caring for now?

3:30

So it's been five months. Did

3:33

come as an eight week old. Uh,

3:35

which is, of course, a very, uh,

3:37

young puppy. Uh, and

3:39

he. Yeah. So it's been five months, um,

3:41

very busy.

3:43

Very busy at that time

3:45

really flies. I feel like in my

3:47

mind, it'll probably. It probably

3:50

feels to you like it was only

3:52

yesterday that he was eight weeks.

3:55

Or maybe not anymore.

3:57

No, I mean, it's even,

3:59

you know, friends and my students

4:01

and, uh, everybody that

4:03

knows Kurup, they can't they

4:06

they are still getting over the shock of him

4:08

growing up so much because he is

4:10

a big boy for, uh, seven

4:12

months. He's quite a big boy. Uh,

4:14

so, yeah, it's just he was so little.

4:17

And of course, you can tell that when

4:19

you look at the little bed that he used to sleep

4:21

on or or his first toy

4:23

that he still has. So

4:26

there's all that.

4:28

So could you please kind of introduce

4:30

Kurup? Um, yeah. Tell us a little

4:32

bit about him.

4:34

Okay, so Kurup is a seven month

4:36

old male yellow Labrador.

4:39

Um, and very specially

4:41

he was uh, named for Nordic

4:43

Week 2023.

4:46

The name Kurup is an indigenous

4:48

name. Uh. And it means friend,

4:51

which is beautiful.

4:53

It's such a lovely name. I think that

4:55

meaning is so, um. It's

4:57

so perfect for for seeing our dogs.

4:59

And it's great that, um, that we

5:01

can honor that kind of cultural heritage in

5:03

that way.

5:04

Absolutely. It's really, really lovely.

5:07

And, you know, people will ask what his name

5:09

is and I will say carob

5:11

sounds like syrup, but with a

5:14

K. And then and

5:16

then I will we'll explain about

5:19

his, uh, his naming

5:21

and, uh, and what the name means.

5:23

So people really love that.

5:25

And it's a very cool, I guess, education

5:27

piece for, um, for some of the public

5:30

who have probably never kind of or

5:32

some, some have never particularly thought about.

5:34

Yeah, naming a dog in another language, let

5:36

alone, um, and an indigenous one

5:38

to Australia to.

5:40

Absolutely. And just the, the, the

5:42

fact that, uh, you know, in

5:44

Australia, seeing eye dogs invites

5:47

certain community indigenous community

5:49

groups to, to name a puppy

5:52

is just a marvelous thing.

5:54

I think it's wonderful. So

5:56

I'm very proud of Kirit and that he's

5:59

he's an adult, a 2023.

6:01

Yeah. Okay. Yeah.

6:04

And and you always you always want those kind of dogs that

6:06

are special names to carry on that legacy. And it sounds

6:08

like he's doing a pretty good job.

6:10

He is. He's a good boy. He's a very

6:12

good boy. Um, so. Yes.

6:15

So what is the kind of typical day

6:17

in your lives together?

6:20

Yeah, we have pretty busy days.

6:22

Um, I, I my work

6:24

is generally in the afternoon into

6:26

the evenings, and I also work on a Saturday,

6:29

so I tend to have mornings off this

6:32

morning, for example, you know, after toileting

6:34

and breakfast, we head out, um,

6:36

to do something, generally a

6:38

training walk, but it could be with

6:40

friends. Or we could hop on a bus

6:42

into the city. This morning we

6:44

went across Military Road, which

6:46

is a big busy road, uh, and

6:49

had a look at one of the little enclosed parks.

6:52

And we were lucky because there was no other

6:54

dogs there. And, and Kurt was able to,

6:57

uh, have a play off, lead.

6:59

A bit of a leg stretch.

7:00

Have a little leg stretch. Uh, and,

7:03

and so that was lovely. And after,

7:06

um, a training walk in the morning,

7:08

we'll, we'll head back home and

7:11

happy to sleep for a few hours so I

7:13

can go out and do what I need to do

7:15

or do what I need to do at home. Uh,

7:18

and then towards the afternoon,

7:20

I have my students start to come in.

7:22

Uh, he will greet them all, uh,

7:25

and so they know him well, and he'll

7:27

generally be happy to relax and

7:30

sleep, uh, while the singing

7:32

is going on. Uh, and

7:35

if he's feeling a little bit overwhelmed,

7:37

he'll put himself into bed, or

7:39

I can give him something to play with. Uh,

7:42

but he's a very good boy, and.

7:44

Yeah.

7:45

What what what's the reaction to singing?

7:48

You know, I mean, I'm guessing so. Yes.

7:50

Probably depends on the genre that you're singing. Some of it

7:52

would be quite loud and interesting sounding for

7:54

a dog.

7:55

It sure is. And I actually

7:57

have a PA system here. So

7:59

we use the microphone. Um,

8:01

and so it's the real deal. It's not

8:03

quiet singing. Uh, and

8:06

my singers are all very different. I'm a contemporary

8:08

style teacher, so it's not classical.

8:11

It's all other styles. Uh,

8:13

secure it. Uh, definitely

8:15

like some of the singing. Some of it's too loud

8:18

for him.

8:18

Yeah.

8:19

And then he'll pop himself into,

8:21

uh, his crate, into his bed,

8:24

uh, and and just rest

8:26

away from, from that because some of the singers are

8:28

really big singers.

8:29

Yeah.

8:30

Uh, and. Yeah, but he's, he's, um,

8:33

very noise tolerant, let's say.

8:36

And it's it's very good practice. Just in

8:38

case he does end up with someone quite musical

8:41

in his future role.

8:43

Absolutely. We're of

8:45

the same mind. You might end up

8:47

with a musician.

8:48

Yeah.

8:49

Fingers crossed. It will be quite nice. We've got a few

8:51

handlers out there that are, um, amazing

8:53

musicians. And you see the dog on stage,

8:55

and it's quite, um, quite special. So it feels

8:57

like it could be a very good path for him.

9:00

Definitely. I mean, he certainly would be.

9:02

It wouldn't be, um, uh,

9:04

foreign to him. He he

9:06

certainly is. Musical

9:08

orientated dog. He has

9:10

no choice.

9:12

Yeah.

9:13

Probably trial by Fire. If that was

9:15

fire. Um.

9:17

Uh, but he's he's quite comfortable. And

9:19

he, you know, just it's just having

9:21

him having that choice to either

9:23

be, you know, lying around where the singer

9:25

is or taking himself off and having a rest.

9:28

So he that choice and

9:30

and does. That's good.

9:32

So where are you based in

9:35

Australia and what is your home like?

9:38

Well, we we are based, um,

9:40

in a in a city area.

9:42

Um, I'm actually in, uh, neutral

9:44

Bay, which is a very, very busy sitting

9:47

area and city. I beg your pardon?

9:49

Area. And, uh, we

9:51

live, um, in

9:54

an apartment.

9:55

Ah.

9:56

So I think that's a little bit unusual.

10:00

Uh, with with the Seeing Eye dog. Uh,

10:02

puppies. Um, and.

10:05

Yeah, but we live in an apartment, so we're on the

10:07

first floor. We have lifts

10:10

and stairs and,

10:12

uh, in on day to day care. It

10:14

has to go down, you know, to toilet

10:16

in a lift. He can't just walk straight out

10:19

the door. So it's quite different.

10:22

Uh, he can't just walk. He does not have a backyard.

10:24

An enclosed backyard. Uh,

10:26

we have some lovely grassy areas,

10:29

but, yeah, he's a city park.

10:31

Absolutely is. Um,

10:33

just for anyone that's not aware, neutral

10:35

Bay is in Sydney.

10:37

Yeah.

10:38

Correct. Yeah.

10:38

It's it's in it's it's

10:41

called, um, the lower North Shore.

10:43

So it's quite near North Sydney.

10:45

Yeah. So yeah.

10:46

So just for anyone who is kind of,

10:48

um, I guess probably not aware, that is a

10:50

kind of reasonably new area. So I think

10:52

at the moment you're probably one of the

10:55

first of our Sydney based

10:57

puppy carers, which is pretty cool. It's cool to

10:59

be part of, um, the state or something.

11:02

Yeah, I think I am the first Sydney,

11:06

um, puppy carer.

11:07

Woohoo! Yeah!

11:08

Yay me! Now

11:11

we need lots more. Yeah.

11:12

And yeah. And now the rest of

11:15

you should.

11:16

Yes, please.

11:18

So how the.

11:19

Company.

11:20

Um. And so you are in a kind of reasonably

11:23

busy area, I guess, out and about and then

11:25

so, you know, you kind of come back. What is it like

11:27

for a young puppy living in an apartment?

11:30

Well, um. I

11:33

believe that Kira really enjoys living in

11:35

the department. Uh, it

11:37

is his home life. That's his. The way

11:40

he's been raised. Yeah. Uh,

11:42

we do, because we. I'm

11:44

out and about a lot. He spends a lot

11:46

of time out, not just training

11:49

his outside. Um, on a long

11:51

lead, uh, having having lovely

11:53

sniffs and going around our property,

11:57

um, saying, greeting everybody that he

11:59

passes. So, you know, uh,

12:02

he he's always. I've always

12:04

had to toilet downstairs, you know, go downstairs

12:07

for the toilet. And I think it's really,

12:09

um, been beneficial for him in a lot of ways,

12:12

you know, through the lifts, down the stairs.

12:15

Um, he's used to basements. He's used to

12:17

doors closing loudly.

12:19

He's used to running into different people all

12:21

the time.

12:22

Yeah.

12:23

I think it's been really

12:26

beneficial for him. Um,

12:28

in a lot of ways.

12:30

Yeah, yeah, because.

12:31

I've had a lot of people say that that that, you

12:33

know, I couldn't raise my I live in an apartment,

12:35

and, I mean, I haven't lived in an apartment and I've,

12:38

um, but I know that that was always an option

12:40

that we that we had. And it always felt to me,

12:42

especially because you do go out and about,

12:44

you just kind of adapt in a different way. It's the same

12:47

living in a house, but it's just not one.

12:50

Absolutely, absolutely. And, you know, he's

12:52

um, I think he's a very happy puppy,

12:54

um, very well balanced, uh,

12:57

and really enjoys his

12:59

life. Uh, so I

13:01

really it's beneficial, I think, because

13:03

a lot of people live in apartments.

13:05

Yeah.

13:06

Vision or a blind, they're

13:08

not just going to live in houses. There's all

13:10

different housing and ups

13:13

in apartment pop and a city park.

13:15

Yeah, and he'll be.

13:16

And he'll be ready for that. Gigging,

13:18

living in apartments. We've

13:20

we've worked it out. We've worked at his clients. So you

13:22

know, for any, any clients who

13:24

are ready in about a year

13:27

in a little bit probably for carrot. There

13:29

you go. There. We've got you ready.

13:31

And can I.

13:31

Give you the the icing on the cake.

13:33

Oh yes.

13:34

The icing on the cake is that syrup has

13:37

two cats.

13:39

He has them. He owns cats.

13:41

He has two cats, Pandora

13:44

and Apollo. So he is a cat

13:46

puppy.

13:48

I think. I think those names are excellent.

13:51

They're very, um, like a

13:53

proper and interesting.

13:55

That's right. They are. They're very interesting. And they're 12

13:57

years old. So they've

13:59

both adapted really well to having a puppy.

14:02

And how did he go in in the

14:04

introductions, bringing an eight week old puppy

14:06

into a house with a cat or

14:08

an apartment with two cats?

14:10

He did.

14:10

Extremely well. He he's always been quite

14:13

respectful of them. At first he thought

14:15

he didn't know what they were. Yeah.

14:17

Uh.

14:18

And he wondered, you know, and he would he would

14:20

look, uh, and and try

14:22

and sniff and not always particularly

14:24

running after them or anything. He's always been

14:27

quite respectful of the felines.

14:29

Uh, so but my, my idea

14:31

would be, was that I would keep them

14:34

really quite separate, um,

14:36

for, for as long as I could until

14:39

they became bored. And

14:41

that.

14:42

Worked.

14:43

I think. I I've done that before when

14:45

I, um, when I got a cat, which is actually

14:47

a fair few years into my kind of puppy

14:49

foster breeder caring journey, and I thought,

14:51

oh, well, set up a bunch of baby gates and give,

14:53

um, give them the chance to really be

14:55

a part. And I think it took about two days

14:57

and I had Iris on the tether for a bit, and then the cat

14:59

kind of kept coming up to her. I was like, oh, I don't think the cat's

15:02

really all that bothered. To be fair.

15:03

I think, yeah.

15:05

That's it. And, you know, I just was

15:07

I was making sure that there was no scratching

15:10

or any, anything violent.

15:12

Yeah.

15:13

Like, you know, um, the curiosity

15:16

just overcomes everything. Harriet.

15:18

Yeah.

15:19

I mean, they do they they they do say

15:21

that, um, you know, there's that whole kind

15:23

of cat and dog, you know, it's like cat and

15:25

mouse, but, um, you know that cats

15:27

and dogs can't be friends, and it just feels like it's really not

15:30

true. It's not.

15:31

True. Yeah.

15:32

And I think that it's really important

15:35

to, um, to know

15:37

that, you know, your our pets, it

15:39

doesn't matter if they're old or even

15:41

are extremely adaptable. Um,

15:44

yeah, they will work it out.

15:46

Uh, and I think that's really important because a lot

15:49

of people say they don't want to be carers

15:51

or they'd love to be carers, but because

15:53

of their other pet.

15:56

Yeah. And it's it's it's, um.

15:59

Yeah, it's very easy to kind of think of particular

16:01

barriers that sometimes aren't really aren't

16:03

really barriers. So what

16:05

have you liked the most about caring

16:08

so far?

16:10

Well, I absolutely

16:12

love animals. Um, and,

16:14

you know, I grew up with animals around me,

16:16

so it's really fantastic to have to have

16:19

a puppy. Um, so

16:21

that's been that's always,

16:24

like, amazing for me. As many animals

16:26

as possible is through, uh,

16:28

I, uh, for,

16:31

you know, caring day to day. You

16:33

really it really gets you up

16:36

and out of the house, and it's such

16:38

a healthy lifestyle. And.

16:40

Yeah.

16:41

Major, major bonus for people who

16:43

want to be up and about more. You know,

16:45

that is a fantastic, um,

16:47

reason to have to be caring for

16:49

a puppy. Uh, and I

16:51

love the, uh, the

16:53

the community. Uh,

16:56

you know, I have a whole new community,

16:58

uh, within with all the

17:00

puppy carers. Uh, and

17:03

that's been an amazing thing, and I enjoy

17:05

that very much. So it's

17:07

really endless. The list.

17:08

How how did you find out about caring?

17:12

I well, one of my friends said to me, wow,

17:14

you would be a fantastic puppy

17:16

carer. Uh, and

17:18

uh, initially saw, you know, saw the

17:20

guide dogs. They don't allow,

17:22

um, puppies in apartments. Or

17:25

at.

17:25

Least that's what it.

17:26

Says.

17:27

Yeah.

17:27

Uh, and apparently some are, but that's

17:30

what it said. So there I saw went

17:32

to to um, seeing

17:34

eye dogs uh, and they

17:36

took me on.

17:37

Yeah.

17:38

It was actually somebody else's suggestion that's

17:41

that that made me think. Oh, wow. Of

17:43

course that would be great.

17:44

Oh, yeah.

17:45

Oh, yeah. I hadn't thought about it. It's it's quite

17:47

niche, I think if you haven't, if

17:49

you haven't happened to have stumbled upon it, I guess

17:52

right.

17:53

To some degree it's a suggestion. So

17:55

yeah.

17:56

That all the time.

17:59

Yeah.

17:59

So, so obviously there are all sorts

18:02

of kind of uh, yeah. There's challenges

18:04

along the way that you'll encounter. What have you found

18:06

challenging?

18:08

Well, when Kirk

18:11

was very young, eight weeks. It

18:13

was a lot of toileting, you know,

18:15

because as you know very well, it's, you know,

18:17

once an hour, uh, if

18:19

you're lucky. Uh, so going up

18:21

and down, uh, that that is

18:24

a lot of work. But I will say,

18:26

you know, um, there's

18:29

different ways that you can have you.

18:31

Sorry. Can we edit that?

18:33

Yeah.

18:34

So basically, um,

18:37

you might have a if you live in an

18:39

apartment, you might have a slightly older puppy,

18:41

you know, 15 or 16 weeks.

18:44

If you don't feel that you can manage an eight week

18:46

old. Uh, so

18:48

that's, um, that's definitely been

18:50

a challenge. Just that a lot of toileting, which

18:52

is eased off a great deal now,

18:55

um, seven months and really

18:57

can hold for a long time. We still

18:59

go down every couple of hours.

19:02

Um, but I think it's good.

19:03

That's as good for you as a leg stretch, really, isn't

19:05

it?

19:06

Exactly.

19:07

Um. And he could. I know he can hold for

19:09

a long time. Um, I

19:11

don't test that just yet. Uh,

19:13

so that that was definitely

19:15

a challenge. Yeah. So we've we've

19:17

worked out that the all of the toileting.

19:20

I think having a puppy like anyone who has

19:22

a puppy, it's not necessarily

19:24

a seeing our dog puppy. It's it's

19:27

a lot of work and, um, there's a lot of responsibility.

19:30

So that's, um, you have to

19:32

ease into that. Uh,

19:34

yeah. But that they're probably the main challenges.

19:37

Yeah.

19:38

So do you have any kind of favorite,

19:40

um, I guess proud moments or funny stories

19:42

that you would like to share first is always

19:44

one that springs to mind at least.

19:47

Uh, I mean, he's so cute. Uh,

19:49

he really loves transport.

19:51

He he he loves transport. He loves getting

19:53

in the car. It's almost always to

19:55

go somewhere fantastic. So he loves it.

19:57

And, uh, we were doing some training

19:59

on the bus, and after that training,

20:02

we were walking by and a bus stopped,

20:04

and he went straight to hop on.

20:06

Like.

20:06

Yay! Another one! Yay!

20:09

So I actually, um,

20:11

you know, turned him around, and we're not

20:13

going on that bus carrot. But, uh,

20:15

and I think, uh, going

20:17

also completely different

20:20

at choir when we go to

20:22

choir. He's a very, very good boy.

20:24

And everybody loves him there. Uh,

20:26

and generally he's quiet, but

20:28

he has this uncanny ability

20:31

to bark in time with the

20:33

music.

20:34

Like, it'll just.

20:35

Him and he'll bark like, as the songs

20:37

finishing, he will bark. And it's

20:39

very tightly and

20:41

that's hilarious. And everyone thinks that's very

20:43

hilarious.

20:44

It's kind of joining in.

20:46

Yeah, but in time.

20:48

You know, it's it's uncanny.

20:50

I think he gets the feel of the song and

20:52

he, you know, goes with the flow.

20:55

But it's pretty funny. Uh, and

20:57

in general, I'm proud of him because

20:59

he's a very good boy. He really

21:01

tries his best day to day. Um,

21:03

so yeah. Proud, proud puppy

21:05

carer here.

21:07

Oh, lovely.

21:08

So just to kind of finish off,

21:10

do you have any, uh, messages for anyone

21:13

who would be kind of considering

21:15

puppy caring or for members of the public,

21:18

um, things that you'd like them to know.

21:21

Well.

21:22

You know, I, I actually we've

21:24

touched on this. I talked to many people who say

21:26

they'd love to become puppy carers

21:28

if only they didn't have, you know, dog,

21:31

cat, bird, you know, and

21:33

I'd like people to know that, that

21:35

the animals are adaptable. Uh,

21:37

and they will adapt,

21:39

uh, and to, you know, not let that

21:41

hold you back, especially if you have the,

21:43

you know, if you think that you would be a puppy

21:46

care, a good puppy carer, uh,

21:48

and could do a good job and

21:50

I know many people would. So

21:52

and for members of the, the public

21:56

a similar thing really. You know,

21:58

I've lived here for 20 years

22:00

and I've never seen another dog in training.

22:03

Oh, really?

22:04

And that's pretty, pretty incredible,

22:07

don't you think? Like quite amazing.

22:10

I've never seen a working dog here or

22:12

a dog in training. And, you know, this

22:14

is a big area. And, um, you

22:16

know, I'd really love to see,

22:19

uh, more more in the area.

22:22

It would be just wonderful, you know, to go

22:24

out and there's another dog in training. Another

22:26

puppy in training. Uh, and that would

22:28

be. That would be. That's my wish.

22:31

Oh, well.

22:32

Well, I think we can, uh, try our

22:34

best to make that happen. So anyone who's listening

22:36

from, uh, kind of neutral Bay, northern

22:38

Sydney area, please spread the word or

22:40

apply. Find out about puppy caring.

22:44

Yes. Well thank you.

22:45

Thank you so much, Angelica. And also Kurup

22:47

who's kind of there but not saying

22:49

too much because you know, of napping

22:51

up for coming on and joining me on the

22:54

show. It's been really great to chat and um, yeah, much

22:56

appreciate all your hard work, proper caring.

22:58

Thank you for having me. Thank you. Harriet.

23:06

I hope you enjoyed my interview with Angelica

23:08

and Carib. People aren't often

23:10

aware that you can raise a puppy in an

23:12

apartment, but as Angelica explains,

23:14

you can have a happy and healthy single

23:16

dog's puppy in an apartment. So you've

23:19

been thinking that that was a barrier. Time

23:21

to rethink and sign up. We

23:23

are also open for volunteers in parts

23:25

of northern Sydney, including Hornsby

23:27

Shire and City of Parramatta councils,

23:30

and in the New South Wales Central Coast Region

23:32

two. So if you and or

23:34

family and friends are interested in raising

23:36

a puppy for 6 or 12 months and

23:38

are based in those areas, you can head

23:40

to our website at Sydney,

23:43

Australia. Org for more information

23:45

or to find out when you can attend our

23:47

next information session. It's

23:49

almost Valentine's Day, which means that we're

23:51

going to be having a perfect match

23:54

day. Talking about how puppy carers

23:56

raise puppies who can help become

23:58

the perfect partner to a handler who is

24:00

blind or has low vision as a seeing eye

24:02

dog. Carers like Angelica raise

24:04

puppies in their homes and give the essential

24:06

skills to help them become confident and happy.

24:09

Working seeing eye dogs check

24:11

out our socials such as Facebook for events

24:13

including a live stream behind the scenes

24:15

of our very own puppy centre at Senior

24:18

Dogs. Now that brings me

24:20

to our last piece for this episode.

24:22

Some of you listeners may be aware

24:24

that throughout this time hosting,

24:27

throughout my time hosting the show, I have been a

24:29

puppy carer. I've taken on some short

24:31

time fosters as well as cared

24:33

for dogs in the breeding program, so

24:35

they actually joined me in the studio during recordings

24:38

and they sleep through generally. So you don't hear

24:40

them, but they are there. Iris is

24:42

a yellow lab golden retriever cross

24:44

who joined our Seeing Eye Dog show team

24:46

in January of 2022. She's

24:49

been with us for most recordings of

24:51

the last two years, so she was actually

24:53

accepted into the breeding colony in January

24:56

of 2023. And

24:58

I'm very excited to share with you

25:00

that in December of 2023,

25:02

she gave birth to her first litter

25:04

of seeing dogs. Puppies? She

25:06

had eight puppies, a mix of yellow

25:09

puppies and black puppies. And they

25:11

were boys, boys and girls in our litter.

25:13

So they will actually go on to join

25:15

carers and hopefully grow up to be seeing eye

25:17

dogs. If you're interested in

25:19

puppy caring, puppies like Iris litter

25:21

are looking for loving homes. Now

25:23

you don't need experience or qualifications

25:26

as you're given lots and lots of training

25:28

and support by lovely, uh,

25:31

experienced staff such as some of the pets that we

25:33

have had on this show, as

25:35

well as costs like food,

25:37

equipment, and medical care are all covered

25:39

by seeing eye dogs. Even

25:41

if you need to go away on a holiday, we

25:44

can organise either kennel stays

25:46

or foster care homes for the

25:48

puppies. So if you are someone that does

25:50

the occasional bit of travelling, you don't have

25:52

to worry about paying for boarding or

25:54

leaving with family and friends. We've got lots of trusted

25:57

carers that can help out fill that

25:59

gap, so it's a really amazing way

26:01

to have a dog without some of the responsibilities

26:04

and barriers, as well as giving

26:06

back to someone who needs it. I

26:09

think it's a pretty cool way to give back, and that's why

26:11

I've been doing it myself for

26:13

coming up to probably seven years now.

26:15

We are open for carers and

26:18

select areas of Queensland, New South Wales

26:20

and Victoria that are listed on our website.

26:22

We'd really appreciate you spreading the word

26:24

to people that would be keen or signing up

26:26

yourself if you're interested in helping out,

26:29

thank you for listening to the Single Dog Show

26:31

on Virgin Australia Radio. I hope you

26:33

enjoyed this episode including our

26:36

exciting bit of news. We will

26:38

have some photos of some of these puppies,

26:40

including Iris's litter, others that will be

26:42

scattered on our social media feed. So don't

26:44

forget to check those out and

26:46

tune in. Same time next week for another episode

26:48

of The Singing Dog Show. Or

26:50

you can head to that website for more news

26:52

and information about seeing dogs.