It’s a ruff job but it will give you lots of pleasure too …
Christine Cohen has spent the past eight months grooming a yellow Labrador by the name of Carrie for her future role as a seeing- eye dog – and she’s hoping to get others to do the same.
The Wyndham Vale resident became a puppy carer for Seeing Eye Dogs Australia (SEDA) a year ago to give back to the community, and she says she’s found the experience extremely rewarding.
“You have to be an animal lover, but you have to be able to separate yourself,” Ms Cohen said. “Most people say, ‘How can you give the dog back?’ But, as they explain it at SEDA, I’m the primary school. I have them for their primary years and then they go back to SEDA for high school where all the proper, hard work is done.
“Then they go out into the big, wide world.”
Ms Cohen said her job as a puppy carer was to give the dogs in her care basic house and toilet training and take them for walks.
“You’re encouraged to take them most places you go – to cafes, on the train, the supermarket – because they need to be comfortable out in public. They’re not really hard work.”
Ms Cohen will look after Carrie until she is about a year or 15 months old, when she will be eligible to go on to the next part of her training.
Seeing Eye Dogs Australia is on the lookout for puppy carers in Wyndham Vale. For more information, visit www.seda.org.au or call 1800 037 773.
