0:11

On this episode of the CGI dog show

0:13

on Virgin Australia Radio, I'm joined

0:15

by Senior Dogs mobility instructor

0:17

Katie Farrell. We're going to talk about

0:19

the role of the mobility instructor

0:21

and Katie's journey to being an instructor,

0:24

from her orientation and mobility background,

0:26

as well as the instructor traineeship.

0:28

We're also going to talk a bit about client

0:31

services and how clients are supported, from

0:33

application two matching to the retirement

0:35

of the dog. If you're blind or have

0:37

low vision and are interested in finding more

0:39

about applying for a senior dog or eligibility,

0:42

head to our website or listen on for

0:44

more. And now, here's my

0:46

interview with Katie. I hope you enjoy. Hi,

0:55

Katie, thank you for joining me on the show today. Hello,

0:57

Harriet.

0:58

Thanks for having me.

0:59

It's quite cool to have you here in

1:01

person. Um, you've worked for seeing

1:03

artists. For how long and how long has it taken me to get you

1:05

on the show?

1:06

Well, um, I

1:08

have been with Vision Australia. This year will be

1:10

seven years around August.

1:13

It's probably taken you seven

1:15

years. Seven years? No,

1:17

I think, um, certainly

1:19

since I transferred over to seeing

1:21

eye dogs. So probably 2 or 3.

1:23

Sorry about that.

1:24

It's become a bit it's definitely a bit more relevant

1:26

to the show, however, you know, I mean any

1:28

Vision Australia stuff at any point, you know, is welcome

1:30

to come along. It's just that you have to have some sort of

1:33

at least, you know, conversation about

1:35

dogs, you know, like you have to know how many legs they have,

1:37

like what kind of ears our Labradors have. You

1:39

know, how.

1:39

Many heads have got?

1:40

Yeah.

1:41

How many stuff do

1:43

you read out?

1:43

So could you please start off by

1:45

introducing yourself and, you know, any kind

1:47

of hobbies and interests you do, and then your role at

1:50

seeing artworks?

1:51

Sure. So. Well, my name

1:53

is Katie Farrell. Um, so

1:55

I started off at

1:58

Vision Australia. Yeah, sort of six and

2:00

a half, seven years ago. Um, as an O

2:02

and M and I studied on M through

2:04

the Vision Australia course, uh,

2:06

in 20 1617. And

2:08

then I, um, got a job up

2:10

in Maroochydore as the O and M

2:12

up there and absolutely loved it. Uh,

2:15

and so I was the owner there for about four years,

2:17

and then the opportunity to,

2:19

uh, become an instructor at Senior Dogs came up

2:22

and I jumped at it. Um, even

2:24

though I was very sad to leave O&M.

2:26

Um, but, you know, this was always the

2:28

dream. So I've just

2:31

graduated as an instructor.

2:33

And, uh, so that process took me about

2:35

two and a half years. Um,

2:37

so that's my work story. But

2:40

geez, outside of work I

2:42

play, I try to play a lot of sport. I'm

2:44

really into squash. I

2:47

want to say I'm a surfer, but I'm not. I

2:49

try to go surfing. Um, but

2:52

yeah. And it took me moving down to Melbourne to

2:54

like, really find the passion to

2:56

try and do that. Um,

2:58

so yes, I'm a surfer in the making.

3:00

Shouldn't that be, like, kind of reverse? It's like you

3:02

go to Queensland. Which is the better place for surfing?

3:04

Absolutely. Yeah. I actually lived near the beach and

3:07

I just never did it. So it's always

3:09

the way, isn't it? But, um, yeah,

3:11

I try to keep active. Um, I

3:13

do like food, so

3:16

I go out a lot to

3:18

restaurants and I try and, you know, the

3:20

occasional wine bar or so.

3:22

Um, but yeah, I just, I don't know where the

3:24

time goes.

3:26

I was busy, and when you work full, full

3:29

time, you know, kind of travelling on Australia

3:31

too, you have to keep all of that kind of.

3:33

Yeah, keeps, keep resting where you can as well

3:35

I try.

3:36

Yes, I'm very good at that too.

3:38

So you kind of said that you started off

3:41

as, as oh. And that was your, uh,

3:43

I guess, background before starting the

3:45

traineeship. Actually, just for

3:47

anyone that's not aware, what is the kind of,

3:49

um, I guess, common commonality

3:51

between, like, the GDI kind of role and

3:54

O and M, so there's both there's kind of mobility

3:56

in both, right?

3:57

Yes, definitely. So, um, the

4:00

an, O and M stands for orientation and mobility.

4:03

So when you're an O

4:05

and M your orientation and mobility specialist.

4:08

So OEMs, uh,

4:10

work with um, people

4:13

from, you know, 0 to 100 plus,

4:15

uh, who have lost,

4:17

lost their vision or are losing it.

4:19

And, um, they, they work to

4:21

help people get out, out and about safely

4:24

using, um, mobility

4:26

aids, like a support cane, ID cane,

4:29

long cane, um, or

4:31

or without. So we teach just safe travel techniques

4:33

if you have low vision or a blind,

4:36

um, and it's a very diverse job, you're giving

4:38

a lot of, uh, information

4:40

about eye conditions. Um,

4:42

you know, you're really you're getting into

4:44

the homes of, of people and getting

4:46

to know them and what their goals are. So, um,

4:49

it is it is about mobility. And then,

4:52

um, I guess being at

4:54

seeing eye dogs as an instructor,

4:57

the mobility side of things is,

4:59

um, using a dog as that primary mobility

5:01

aid instead of a white cane, for

5:03

example. But we're still very

5:06

similar. It's all about, you know, safely

5:08

getting from A to B, how to

5:10

cross roads safely and catch public

5:12

transport just with a different mobility aid.

5:15

I think you said to me as well that it's kind of interesting because

5:17

O&M is probably more as more the first touch

5:19

point sometimes that's probably potentially

5:21

one of the first services that someone might receive.

5:24

Um, whereas potentially the single dog route

5:27

is a little bit further down because you do need that,

5:29

that background in. Yes,

5:31

the mobility skills first.

5:32

That's that's true. And it's,

5:35

uh, you know, part of getting a

5:37

dog and the application process that

5:39

people go through is where we are looking at

5:41

how people are getting from A to B and,

5:44

um, are they doing it safely and independently

5:46

usually. So O&M

5:49

um, you know, sometimes I'd be the first

5:51

person, um, in someone's

5:53

house. After they'd just gotten a diagnosis,

5:56

um, you know, glaucoma or any eye

5:58

condition. And I'm, I

6:00

did often find myself that, you know, the first person that

6:03

the clients were talking to about what it is,

6:05

what it means, um, and,

6:07

and the options out there for them to,

6:10

to, you know, start

6:12

achieving what they want to achieve. So,

6:15

um.

6:16

Yeah, very, very different. So

6:18

what, what did kind of draw you to O&M

6:20

before you started that?

6:22

Um, it's a fairly long story.

6:25

So do you want the long or the short version?

6:27

How long is the long version?

6:29

I guess we'll we'll find out. I'll try and condense it. But

6:31

uh, the I suppose the background for

6:33

me wanting to get into this profession,

6:36

um, the passion behind what I do comes

6:38

from, uh, growing up, my,

6:41

my grandma had macular degeneration,

6:43

and she was legally

6:45

blind at the age of 50. Um,

6:48

she was, like, my

6:50

best friend growing up. We were really, really

6:52

close. I was always the one that wanted

6:54

to help her, you know, get around. I didn't

6:56

know what I was doing, but, you know, I was it was my

6:58

job to to go and help Nan. And, um,

7:00

so that was

7:02

really, you know, I guess, the passion

7:05

behind it.

7:05

But. And that was even when you were, like a child.

7:08

Yes.

7:09

Yeah. She passed away when I was about 19.

7:11

So around my university years.

7:13

But so I didn't know about the profession

7:16

at all. But I went to uni

7:18

straight out of school, just did a health science

7:20

nutrition degree, which I did not enjoy, but

7:22

I just stayed in it because I didn't know what else to do.

7:25

Um, and after I got my degree, I went, I went

7:27

and travelled to um,

7:30

the UK. So I lived in London for two years,

7:32

and one day I was going to work there

7:35

and my visa was expiring and I had to come back

7:37

to Australia. And I was thinking, what

7:39

am I going to do with my life? Like what career should I

7:41

go into? And um, a lady,

7:44

I remember she stepped onto the tube, the

7:46

tube. I was on air with her

7:49

saying, well, guide dog, seeing eye dog.

7:51

Um, and I just remember looking at them and

7:53

thinking, how on earth did they

7:55

navigate the tube network and get

7:57

on to the tube? And I just thought that would be a

8:00

really rewarding thing to do.

8:02

I always loved dogs, but it was more

8:04

looking at the lady, and I wanted to

8:06

help her and work

8:08

with work with people. And then

8:10

the dogs were definitely a plus. So, um,

8:13

yeah, I got back to Australia and started

8:15

googling how to become a guide

8:17

dog trainer. Um, and

8:19

that path led me to finding

8:22

out about O&M and that it was,

8:24

um, you know, looked at

8:27

favourably to be

8:29

an instructor. If you had that qualification, which.

8:31

Kind of worked out for you in the end, really. I mean,

8:33

I think that's kind of the proof is in the pudding in this particular

8:36

instance. Yeah.

8:37

Well, definitely. Yes. Um,

8:39

it was always the intention to be

8:41

an instructor, but when I started, um,

8:44

studying O&M and actually and

8:46

doing that job, I fell in love with that as,

8:48

as a whole, like, and it was very hard

8:51

to leave that profession. And

8:53

I actually kind of say goodbye

8:55

to the idea of working as an instructor

8:57

and with dogs. But just

8:59

years later, the the opportunity

9:01

came up and, and I thought, oh,

9:04

better. I'd probably always regret it if I didn't go for

9:06

it. And now that I'm here is

9:08

the best job ever. So.

9:10

And because given that you were already kind of at a

9:12

Vision Australia, you'd, you'd ended up

9:14

back here where that just happens

9:16

to be a whole division devoted

9:18

to seeing dogs.

9:19

It worked out really well for me. So yeah,

9:22

they go on my course. When I

9:24

was in it, uh, it was actually, uh,

9:26

run from seeing eye dogs just randomly.

9:28

They had a spare classroom here

9:31

at Seeing Eye Dogs. And so I was familiar with

9:33

the area. Um, so

9:35

yeah, I went back to Maroochydore to be in on.

9:37

But then I came back to be a trainee

9:39

and I've stayed, haven't gone back.

9:41

Sometimes it's kind of like all roads lead to here.

9:43

Really.

9:44

Something like that. Yeah. I'm very lucky it's

9:46

not. Not the easiest, um, career

9:49

to get into and to find, but

9:51

I guess I was in the right place at the right time.

9:53

Yeah. And with the with the right kind of

9:55

background that led you to an understanding

9:58

of blindness

10:00

and a vision, even from a quite young age. Yes.

10:02

Well I tried yeah. So

10:05

a lot of, a lot of people come to this

10:07

career, um, sort of down

10:09

the dog road as, as

10:11

you could say. So, you know, volunteering in

10:14

kennels and working your way up through the kennels

10:16

or getting a job at seeing eye dogs and

10:18

then just waiting for an opportunity to

10:20

come up. So I was a little bit

10:22

weird that I came in without any dog

10:24

experience. But I did have the client experience

10:26

behind me, and I think that's worked in my

10:29

favor.

10:29

Yeah. So what was the traineeship

10:32

like for the GDI qualification

10:34

and what is the role like?

10:36

I guess the yeah,

10:38

the traineeship is full on. It

10:40

was sort of anywhere between

10:43

um, 18 months to three years

10:45

typically. Um, so

10:47

I think I got it done in about two and a half,

10:50

even with my, um, O&M

10:52

background. Uh, so. Yeah.

10:54

With the with the traineeship. You.

10:56

There's a lot, a lot to cover. So I had

10:58

the onm side of things already done but in terms

11:00

of dog training. So I had to learn everything

11:03

about it, you know for four legs, one

11:06

head tail you know that's.

11:08

Yeah. So basic

11:10

basic healthcare. And then you learn about

11:12

training and sort of animal,

11:15

um, animal welfare and

11:17

you know how to. Yeah. So absolutely everything.

11:20

And then as a requirement you need to train,

11:23

um, about 6 to 9

11:25

dogs at a minimum.

11:28

And keep in mind that one

11:30

dog can take five for 4

11:32

to 5 months to train. And

11:35

so if you if

11:37

you don't get many through, then that's 4 or

11:39

5 months. Yeah. You know, not

11:41

down the drain because you learn so much from the

11:43

ones that don't quite make it. But, you know, then

11:45

you've got to get another, another batch of dogs

11:47

and that's 4 or 5 months again.

11:49

So and sometimes it's just a bit of the luck of the

11:51

draw too. It's like there's nothing you can do. It's just that

11:53

some dogs want to do it or

11:55

can and others can't.

11:56

Yeah. So but no, I

11:59

can't fault the traineeship. It was really

12:01

fascinating. Very hard work.

12:04

But you sort of you're inserted into

12:06

the team from day one and you've

12:08

got support along all along

12:10

the way and you're fully supported. And then when

12:12

you, you know, your

12:14

knowledge and experience grows,

12:17

you the support backs off

12:19

and you're able to, you know, try your own way

12:21

of doing things. And and then eventually,

12:23

once you hand in all your assignments and have

12:26

all the, the dog background

12:28

and client background all sorted,

12:30

then you, you graduate. It takes a while.

12:33

So now that you have kind of graduated,

12:35

what is the kind of day of the life of

12:37

an instructor? And I think there

12:39

are kind of I'm mind standing there

12:41

kind of two, two separate parts, which

12:43

is, uh, training cycles.

12:45

So like doing the dogs and then the client services.

12:47

Is that correct?

12:49

That is correct. Yes. So,

12:51

um, especially for the instructors

12:54

in Melbourne. So as you know, we're a nationwide

12:56

company. We have, um, you

12:58

know, an instructor called Matt in

13:00

WA and Brendan in Queensland.

13:03

They, we don't have kennels

13:05

there. So it's fairly

13:07

rare that they'll train dogs and

13:09

then work with clients they primarily

13:11

work with, with clients. Um,

13:14

and then we've got Mickey and Luca, um,

13:17

on the Central Coast in New South Wales, and they

13:19

have a small cohort of dogs that they train

13:21

and, but mostly work with, with

13:23

clients. So but because I'm based in Melbourne,

13:26

where we've got the kennel facility,

13:28

um, that's sort of the typical,

13:31

uh, I would say the,

13:34

the routine of an instructor here would be you

13:36

would, uh, be allocated,

13:39

uh, a group of dogs. So

13:41

mine this year, for example, is coming

13:43

up in February. I'll

13:45

stay with those dogs and train them for

13:48

20 weeks. And then there's usually

13:50

a little bit of extra stuff at the end of that.

13:52

So, you know, 4 to 5 months. And

13:54

then after that it, uh,

13:56

you, you know, as you're training the dogs,

13:59

you're thinking about who they could be matched with,

14:01

uh, from our client base.

14:03

And that's like through, throughout the kind of training

14:05

to wasn't just that one. You don't kind

14:07

of get to them at the end of the finished dog and be like, well.

14:09

No, no, you're actually really

14:11

from day one, you're, you're

14:13

you've got an idea who the clients are.

14:16

And, and then you have a look at your dogs, you get to know

14:18

them. And then you sort of get, get to

14:20

understand who might fit well with

14:22

who. Um, so

14:25

then once I've finished with with my dogs,

14:27

I move into the client services

14:30

cycle. And that could be I'm

14:32

coming off about six months of

14:34

working with clients and and

14:36

then in that time, I could be doing a

14:38

number of things. I could be assessing

14:40

people to see if they're suitable

14:42

for seeing our dog mobility. I

14:44

could be placing, um,

14:47

a newly trained dog with somebody

14:49

and spending weeks, you know, 3 or 4

14:51

weeks with that person to make sure

14:53

that they know how to work their dog and everything's going

14:55

well. And that's called class.

14:58

And then, um, I could be doing any

15:00

number of follow ups just seeing any,

15:02

any client who maybe needs to

15:05

touch base with an instructor or learn a new travel

15:07

route, um, just.

15:09

Even just the kind of standard like,

15:11

hey, everything's track along okay.

15:13

Yeah, yeah. So, uh, and

15:15

this clients, you know, all over. So I

15:17

do travel up to Queensland as well.

15:19

And look, uh, go visit clients

15:21

in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast and

15:24

or just wherever they need me.

15:26

It's quite fun if they send me somewhere I've

15:28

never been, I'm like, all right.

15:29

Somewhere nice, fun, maybe sunny,

15:32

uh, good weather, you know?

15:33

Yep. No, that's. We try.

15:35

So yeah, that's probably my

15:37

favourite bit about the job, just how diverse

15:39

it is. And, um,

15:42

by the time I'm finished dog

15:44

training, I'm really ready to work with people

15:46

again. And then, you know, by the time

15:48

I've finished with client services, I can't

15:50

wait to have dogs around me again. So it's

15:52

like it's a really nice mix.

15:54

And so the kind of dog training

15:56

side of things too, that's a very it's

15:59

very much kind of like so doing the same

16:02

like training the dogs from, you

16:04

know, really like 12 months old. So

16:06

they're kind of pretty fresh. They don't really know a whole lot other than

16:08

being kind of nice citizens

16:10

roughly. And then are you

16:12

training, what, like six potentially

16:15

dogs the whole way through.

16:18

What is that like?

16:19

Yes. So when

16:21

we get so I can use February

16:23

for example. So I'll get a group

16:25

of dogs come in. There could be up to maybe 13

16:28

or 14 dogs come in. And then

16:30

we spend about two weeks assessing

16:32

that group. And and from that group

16:34

we might get uh, maybe

16:36

eight, eight dogs through

16:39

would be a good, good number of

16:41

suitable candidates. And,

16:43

but, you know, it could be six. It could be, could be five,

16:46

but generally around eight. Um,

16:48

and we so

16:50

then I take that at those eight and

16:53

just begin. So yeah. Basic

16:55

obedience walking nicely

16:57

on the lead. Um, a lot

16:59

of the stuff that they do as puppies

17:01

and the puppy development

17:04

trainers oversee a lot

17:06

of that, and they do an awesome job. So a lot

17:08

of the time the dogs have really great obedience

17:10

by the time they get to us instructors.

17:13

Um, but we just sort of, I guess, refine,

17:16

um, their obedience. And

17:18

that'll take a few weeks, and

17:20

then we'll start to put the

17:22

harness on them and introduce

17:24

them to, you know, the guiding

17:27

role. So and that takes,

17:29

you know, months. And so

17:31

we're, we're teaching them all sorts of things.

17:33

Um, how to stop it curbs, how

17:35

to avoid obstacles, how to walk

17:37

in the center or center left of the footpath,

17:41

speed control, asking them to walk faster,

17:43

slow down, find

17:45

things like, uh, chairs,

17:48

find lifts, find escalators,

17:50

you know, points of interest. And we

17:52

can essentially teach the dog to

17:55

target anything. We just

17:57

have to show them what we want them to target

17:59

and teach them and

18:01

repeat, repeat, repeat. So it's a

18:03

lot of walking. Um,

18:06

is there something.

18:06

Like, isn't it like, is it like 2020

18:09

K's a day sometimes. Yeah.

18:11

Is that can be 20 KS a day. I usually

18:13

I, I use my um, fitness watch.

18:15

I checked my steps. And so a

18:17

typical day would be

18:19

22 to 25,000

18:22

steps a day. So

18:24

it's cool because you get paid to lose

18:26

weight, I think. But

18:28

you're, um. Yeah, you're absolutely right

18:31

by the end of the day. But it's

18:33

worth it. It's it's a it's

18:35

fun. You know, you have you have a good time with the dogs

18:37

and. Yeah, definitely have hard days,

18:39

but it's certainly it's worth it.

18:42

So what is your favorite part about

18:44

being an instructor?

18:46

Oh, there's a

18:49

lot um, it

18:52

I really love the,

18:55

um. The

18:59

ability to kind

19:01

of write my own calendar to

19:03

the flexible. It's a very flexible job.

19:06

You can work, um, you know,

19:08

flexible hours, sort of, uh, between,

19:11

you know, still do your typical day, but you can start

19:13

early, finish early, start late, finish late.

19:16

Um, but I just love the variety in

19:18

my whole year, so I can kind of plan

19:20

out. All right. I've got dogs for

19:22

this, this amount of time. So,

19:24

you know, I'll have a holiday after after

19:26

that or, um, and

19:28

it's just really nice. I always knew

19:30

I wanted a career where I wasn't sitting

19:33

at a at a computer all day, like, that's

19:35

not me. And I struggle with that.

19:37

So you just. You're out. You're out

19:39

walking, you're driving, you're talking

19:41

to people working with dogs.

19:44

Um, so that. Yeah, the variety.

19:47

And then you have really, really

19:49

lovely, rewarding moments when,

19:51

um, you know, clients can have even

19:54

little, little wins and you just see

19:56

it on their faces and. Yeah. Um,

19:59

so that side of things, if you're, you know,

20:01

making a positive impact in someone's

20:03

life. Yeah, it's, um, very powerful

20:05

and it's makes you, um,

20:08

you know, even if you're really tired, you

20:10

can have a lovely moment. Yeah.

20:12

Your feet are sore, but, like, you've got a smile

20:14

on your face regardless. Yes. So

20:17

is there anything that surprised you about

20:19

the role, um, or

20:21

that you didn't know before you started?

20:25

Um, I

20:27

think it's probably more full

20:29

on than I thought it would be. I always knew

20:31

it would be challenging, but it's

20:34

very physically demanding. Um,

20:36

so I think I've got a bit of a rude awakening

20:38

with that. Just the amount

20:41

that you're on your feet and you're moving.

20:42

Your body, and then you realize.

20:43

Yeah, exactly. I thought I was fit. I'm not.

20:45

Um, so there

20:48

is that element and then, you know, you've

20:50

got just because you've got dogs

20:53

that you're training doesn't mean that you aren't still

20:55

in contact with the clients that you work with. And so

20:57

that can be on your mind if you know, they

20:59

they need assistance and you know they're

21:01

in Queensland and I'm training a dog, but

21:03

we can you know, we can work around

21:05

those things and I can drop drop the dogs

21:08

and.

21:08

Go, but someone else can do it. But it's absolutely

21:10

you want to do it yourself. Yeah.

21:12

So your mind's in a lot of places. Um,

21:14

a lot of the time. But, um,

21:16

you know, that means no day

21:18

is dull. Um, and.

21:21

Yeah. And I think when I was

21:24

a student really learning, you

21:26

know, the beginnings about what

21:28

a dog guard is and how they learn

21:30

and what they are capable of. I think

21:32

a lot I think I

21:34

had a bit of a mindset, like a

21:37

lot of the community, that these

21:39

dogs are like magical beings

21:41

that can do anything. And

21:43

they just. Yeah. Uh,

21:46

are robots essentially. Um,

21:48

so learning about the

21:50

mistakes that they can make and, um,

21:52

that they are in fact not perfect and they

21:54

can get distracted and they can forget things and

21:56

they can turn them right instead

21:58

of left. And they, you know, they make mistakes

22:01

quite often. So, um, that

22:03

was a rude shock. I was like, oh, okay.

22:06

You know, not.

22:07

Not often that we're the yeah, that

22:09

it's dangerous for the clients that they actually get

22:11

that finished product. But, uh, but it happens

22:13

at times.

22:13

Yeah, yeah. No, it, um, you

22:15

know, they are they are dogs at the end of the

22:17

day, but we, we, uh, you know,

22:19

that that 3 or 4 weeks that I mentioned,

22:22

when we place a dog with someone, we're giving the

22:24

client all the tools, um,

22:26

that they need to manage their

22:28

dog and learn how to read

22:30

their dog. And so, you know,

22:33

those things are rare. It's just

22:35

I used to think people, you know, held

22:37

on to the dog and got to Woolworths,

22:39

but in fact, you know.

22:42

Yeah not quite. There's

22:44

a weeks, weeks of work that

22:46

the client needs to put in, um, for

22:48

the dog to learn a travel route.

22:50

So and I guess that's that thing where for

22:52

the right client, that kind of work

22:54

putting it in is worth it. And the kind of pros

22:56

for them at way some of the challenges

22:59

let's just say. But um. Oh, absolutely. Interesting.

23:02

Yes. So

23:04

just to kind of finish off, is there anything

23:06

that you would like to tell anyone who either is

23:08

a handler currently or maybe isn't

23:10

one yet and would consider applying for one

23:12

or. Yeah.

23:15

I think if anyone is,

23:17

um, even considering

23:20

it or wondering, oh, is

23:22

that for me or. I don't think that's, I

23:24

don't know if I, you know, would

23:26

qualify or, you know, any of these

23:28

questions coming up and if you think you

23:30

would be remotely interested, then absolutely

23:33

get the information because

23:35

and even you may get the information and decide

23:38

it's not for you. But

23:40

the other thing could happen the way you'll get

23:42

the information and you'll think, oh wow,

23:44

I actually am suitable for that. And that would change

23:46

my life. So I think,

23:48

um, especially, you know, when I

23:50

was in O&M and giving people information even

23:53

on their eye condition and, um,

23:55

talking about, you know, how

23:57

it can impact their life, I, I

24:00

did see a big change in

24:02

the power of information. So

24:04

I think if you're considering it,

24:07

please, you know, reach out to seeing eye

24:09

dogs and, and just have a chat with us.

24:11

Because it's not exactly even like, you know, you don't have to be

24:13

locked in. It's not even like, you know, your calling

24:15

to apply. It's just calling to talk

24:18

about your circumstances.

24:19

Exactly right. And then from there, you know,

24:21

you can make an educated decision. I wouldn't want

24:23

anyone sitting out there thinking, oh, I

24:25

don't think I qualify or I don't think

24:27

it's for me. And then just deciding that because we

24:29

can have a really great chat and,

24:31

and talk about it. And you might be surprised

24:34

because.

24:34

I mean, I've even heard some people with kind

24:36

of yeah, low vision that's not

24:38

you know, they think say for example, this is

24:40

what I've heard, you know, they don't think they're blind

24:42

enough.

24:43

I've heard exactly that sentence before

24:45

you. I don't think I'm blind enough. But a

24:47

lot of our, um, a lot of our clients

24:50

have low vision. And so,

24:52

you know, and that is

24:55

absolutely that is okay. It's

24:57

not seeing our dog. Mobility is not

24:59

just for people who are totally blind.

25:01

So, um, yeah, we

25:03

can talk more in detail about

25:06

the application process and the assessment

25:08

process. We have chats with people

25:10

on the phone all the time. So there's absolutely no pressure.

25:13

And it's like, if the time is not right, it doesn't mean

25:15

that it's not never.

25:17

Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And

25:19

we can even give, you know, tips and tricks

25:21

for if it's not right now. Well,

25:23

if you if you'd like to plan out for a year and

25:25

two years, you know, we can point you in

25:28

the right direction for other services potentially like

25:30

O&M, where, um, a

25:32

mobility specialist can come out

25:34

and start working with you on travel

25:36

routes and, and getting sort of independent and confident

25:38

in navigating when you're blind

25:41

or have low vision.

25:41

So and that and then kind of I guess that

25:44

sets you up better to actually make use of the dog too,

25:46

because if that's something that you're

25:48

I remember watching one of the like, um, pick

25:51

of the litter, the like American like docu

25:53

series ones. And I think that was one of the things

25:55

that they had. One of the clients, I think,

25:57

started doing their class and they the

26:00

mobility or the orientation wasn't

26:02

strong enough. And so the

26:04

use of the dog was really hard. And then she came back.

26:07

Yes. Having had that kind of extra work, which

26:09

is really interesting for me, I think.

26:10

Yeah, we hope that we

26:13

can avoid those situations

26:16

because of our assessment process. And,

26:18

um, you know, we come into people's

26:21

homes and have a long chat and maybe

26:23

go for a walk together. We ask clients

26:25

to show us a travel route that they do,

26:28

or a couple travel routes. Just so we know

26:30

that when that dog is placed, the

26:32

idea is that the dog is adding

26:34

to your life. Sort of not.

26:36

They don't. They don't know where Woolworth's is.

26:38

So, um, you know, it's about the

26:40

client knowing how

26:43

to direct the dog to, to

26:45

get to destinations and doing

26:47

that independently. And, um, also,

26:50

you know, it's about care for the dog as well. You know,

26:52

having having the, um, the

26:54

drive and the ability to care

26:57

for the dog. They sleep inside,

26:59

put up grooming.

27:00

Things.

27:01

To put out with. Yeah, diarrhea,

27:04

you know, vomiting. It happens. Um,

27:06

even the best dog. So, uh,

27:08

yeah, it's we're always happy

27:10

to have chats with people, and I

27:12

do get pulled over sometimes on the street

27:14

and people ask me, um, questions.

27:17

We love questions. So please,

27:19

um, give us. Yeah, give us

27:21

a call or email or get in

27:23

touch if you're remotely interested.

27:25

And we can we can help.

27:27

Amazing. Well, thank you so much for

27:29

coming on the show and chatting about your, yeah,

27:31

your story and life and dog handling.

27:34

And you know, you're most welcome.

27:36

Sorry it took me so long to get here.

27:43

You've been listening to the single show on

27:45

Australia Radio. I hope you enjoyed my

27:47

interview with Katie. If you are blind

27:50

or have low vision and would like to find out more

27:52

about the application process or chat

27:54

to a member of our team to find out if

27:56

dog eared mobility is right for you. Seeing.

27:58

I would love to hear from you. To inquire

28:01

about applying or to chat with us, please

28:03

contact us by calling one 800

28:05

and 037773.

28:08

That number again 1800 037 773

28:12

or email info at Sedat

28:15

Wargo. You

28:18

can also head to our website at Sydney,

28:21

Australia Morgue to find out all

28:23

things seeing eye dogs. Thank you for

28:25

listening to the auto show and don't forget

28:27

to tune in. Same time next week for

28:29

another episode of the CSIRO show.