IT’S 5.30 on a dark Brisbane morning and the shopping centre travelator is silent and unmoving – but rugged up against the cold, Kathy Price walks up and down the metal ramp accompanied by an enthusiastic puppy dressed in a blue and red vest.
Fonzie is a nine-week-old black Labrador; Kathy is a volunteer assistance dog puppy educator, and the two are in their first week of forging a special bond.
Fast forward three months and Fonzie is in a much bigger vest and has been learning the basic skills he will need for his future career – whether that’s helping an autistic child, a person with dementia or someone with a severe disability.
Looking after an assistance puppy was always on Kathy’s bucket list, and putting her name down on the program was one of the first things she did when she retired.
After careful screening and watching other puppies train at puppy school, Kathy found herself at Brisbane airport collecting a bundle of canine energy from a Sydney flight. She and Fonzie hit the ground running.
Fonzie went shopping, he went on a bus and train, went to zumba classes with Kathy and to the School of Hard Knocks Choir where Kathy also volunteers. He attended puppy classes and learned to be at home in crowded rooms.
Fonzie went with Kathy and her own dog Heidi, a Delta therapy dog to local nursing homes.
Play was a learning experience. Fetch taught Fonzie how to retrieve things like a mobile phone, tug would eventually train him to open door and drawers, and there were lots of play dates with other puppies.
For Kathy the experience is fulfilling and meaningful. “I get to use the skills I’ve learned throughout my lifetime. It’s challenged me. It’s almost like going back and having my own family again.”
At the time of going to press, Fonzie was enrolled in the Pups in Prison program, which sees him training with an inmate at a correctional centre and returning to Kathy every three weeks for socialisation.
Soon Fonzie will return to Sydney for advanced training and then his new life will begin with someone who needs him.
Kathy said being an assistance dog educator was ideal for seniors and could also be done part-time.
“There are carers who look after the puppies for a few hours or a week,” she said. “It’s a way of being involved and it’s such a giving thing to do.”
And when it’s time to give Fonzie up for the next stage of his life? “There’ll be some tears, but that’s what we do.”
It takes two years and costs Assistance Dogs Australia $30,000 to train a dog.
- Details on 1800-688-364, www.assistancedogs.org.au
