August 1st, 2024Pets@Work – Dianne, Pepper & Rishi

Ducking into the Clunes IGA supermarket for a few essentials, the sound of a puppy yap from somewhere within says it all. Dianne Hill, owner-operator of the supermarket has another puppy in her care.

“Yes” says Dianne. “This is Rishi. He’s a 14-week-old Seeing Eye Dogs Vision Australia puppy and he’s just been with us since last Tuesday.”

Rishi is the eighth puppy that Dianne has taken on in her role as a puppy carer for Vision Australia, the succession of carefully bred young pups in her care frequently cause for delight among shoppers and staff at the local supermarket as Dianne daily takes her growing charges to work with her.

But while young Rishi is onsite learning, growing, socialising and generally being adored by the humans, he’s not lacking canine company either as Dianne’s permanent pet pooch, Pepper the Jack Russell is office dog – or some might say “Door B….” for the store’s administration department.

Presiding over the admin office, Pepper rules the roost, generally ensconced in her fluffy bed, and keeping a watchful eye on all who enter her office door.

“She is definitely a princess,” Dianne says. Nine-year-old Pepper does not let anyone unrecognised pass into admin without notice.

From within her office she maintains a commanding view over the supermarket security screens and is quick to let the boss know should someone unrecognised walk through the office door into her domain.

“She’s the office dog and she’s better than any alarm system,” Dianne says. “She’s never bitten anyone but my goodness can she bark. She’s the same at home. She’s just part of the team.”

As he is being socialised and cared for until he is old enough to potentially be trained as a Seeing Eye Dog, young Rishi has an official badged harness and is able to move through the supermarket store space itself, much to the delight of many shoppers especially children.

“He’s a beautifully calm puppy and very food motivated,” says Dianne, noting the way each of the Vision Australia puppies she’s cared for over the years all have unique personalities.

“He’s number eight. I love it but it does have its moments. At the moment he’s waking me up at 2am to go to the toilet,” she laughs.

“Basically it’s just looking after the puppies, socialising them and hopefully we end up with a well-socialised dog that can then go on to Melbourne for training with Seeing Eye Dogs in Kensington.

“With one we had before, (golden labrador) Maggie, we were invited to go and see her train at Seeing Eye Dogs. It was awesome.

“Having a pup in your care is a good excuse to get out and about and, having the dog, people stop and talk to you and you also go places you might not otherwise go. You can basically take them anywhere other than commercial kitchens and operating theatres.

“We go to a lot of the markets in the region. Markets are awesome places to socialise a dog as long as you don’t overwhelm them.”

After 10 months with their puppy carers, pups like Rishi are assessed to see if they’re suited to progressing on to being trained to become Seeing Eye dogs and later matched with a vision-impaired person for whom they can make a tremendous improvement to quality of life.

Dianne says that if Rishi is assessed as being suited to go on to train to become a seeing eye dog at the 10-month mark, then she must bid him a fond farewell.

If he’s not deemed suited to train as a seeing eye dog, she may go on caring for him for a further couple of months while Vision Australia finds him a suitable permanent adoptive home or role in society.

“A lot of people think they wouldn’t want to do it, puppy caring, because you’ve got to give them up,” Dianne says.

“But it doesn’t bother me as I know they’re going on to bigger and better things. Don’t get me wrong. I’m sad to see them go, but it’s a bit like seeing a child go on to university.

“The last one we had was Petal and she was a bit unsure, but she has now gone on to start proper training.

“Another one, Alfred, was also a black lab and he got through and ended up on the Gold Coast and the lady that got him rang me up and had me in tears as to how grateful she was that someone had put the effort into training him.”

If pups are assessed and found not quite suited to go on to train as Seeing Eye Dogs there are many other important and valuable avenues for them to take to “live their best lives,” Dianne says.

“It’s all about the dog and whether they’re interested. I had one that went through and almost made it but would get a little nervous when the pressure was on and she got sent to Canberra to do post-traumatic stress work instead.

“There are lots of avenues for them to take and some may just end up living their best lives as pets.”

Dianne says she started taking puppies on as a puppy carer for Seeing Eye Dogs Vision Australia about six years ago.

While the role, which can last from six to 12 months, can be challenging she loves it and finds it immensely rewarding, especially thinking of the enormous improvements it can make in the life of a visually impaired person.

But already young Rishi is generally making life a good bit brighter for everyone he encounters – while closely monitored by princess Pepper of course.

Words & Images: Eve Lamb

If you know of a critter, large or small, who is an important part of a local business or workplace, let us know as we’d love to feature him or her as part of our Pets Work series. Email editorial@tlnews.com.au