Would you like to volunteer to take care of a puppy and raise it to become a well-adjusted, future seeing-eye dog? Vision Australia has a program for Kedron families and other North Brisbane residents to become full-time foster carers.
The puppy carers for Vision Australia’s Seeing Eye Dog program will be expected to take care of an eight-week-old pup for the duration of 12 to 15 months or for as short as six months. The carer’s main roles are to interact with the animal, provide them with regular exercises, and facilitate socialisation with other dogs or humans.
The foster dog parents should also spend some time toilet training pup, as well as teaching basic commands like sit or stay and help them learn to walk on the lead. However, the puppy carers will not be expected to train the animals for their future jobs as there are actually development trainers tasked to work with the young dogs.
What’s vital at this stage is for a North Brisbane family to monitor the pup since these animals should not be left alone for more than three hours. Humans have to be committed to the animal because consistency is an important factor in their development as future service dogs.
Aside from the time, puppy carers need to have a secure yard where they can interact and play with the dog. If they are renting the house, they will also need to secure approval from their landlord to have a new animal living with them, albeit temporarily.
According to Vision Australia: “Your puppy can ‘free run’ with your supervision if your property/backyard is safe and secure. The pup should not be left unsupervised as they may learn undesired behaviours such as digging. Letting pups have a ‘free run’ is a fantastic way to burn off some energy and teach them to respond when called.”
To learn more about this program, you can download the FAQs outlining the duties and requirements of a puppy carer. However, do note that your application might take some time to be assessed, depending on the new litters that will need placement in a new home.
Vision Australia’s Seeing Eye Dog has over 200 pups living with carers at a given time. The costs involved to become part of this program will be shouldered by the company, including the crate for the puppy to sleep, retreat or settle in after a long day of training and play.