On Vision Australia radio, you're listening to the Seeing Eye Dogs Show with me, your host, Harriet Moffatt. Today, in recognition of International Women's Day on March the 8th, I've got two guests talking about International Women's Day. The first is Clare Opie with seeing eye dog Mabel. We're going to be talking about inclusion, what that means to her, and how she uses her Instagram to document her life and her story and educate the public, as well as her followers about using seeing eye dogs, blindness and low vision. And then I am joined by Linda Blaik, another senior handler with Seeing Eye Dog Kevi. We're going to be talking about her life, her story, and what an International Women's Day and inclusion means to her.
There are so many wonderful women at seeing eye dogs in the staff, volunteers and clients and our general broader community. So we would like to wish all of those women a very happy International Women's Day. So now let's kick off to my interview with Clare Opie, talking about International Women's Day and her Instagram account. Hi, Claire. Thank you for joining me on the show today.
01:28S2
Thank you for having me.
01:30S1
So just we are going to talk a little bit about, I guess, International Women's Day and the theme of International Women's Day this year is inclusion. So what does the word inclusion mean to you?
01:42S2
I suppose inclusion means for me, like a world where everyone's made to feel equal and part of the world, whether they're working or not working. I think it just means everyone should be included.
01:53S1
So when we're talking about inclusion in society, education and awareness can help with that. And for people to understand things like, for example, disability or, and the importance of, of access before you lost your vision, were you always aware about blindness and low vision and even working dogs?
02:13S2
I always knew that were there. I didn't ever need to pay attention to what they were doing, what inclusion meant for blind people. I honestly didn't come about what that was until perhaps I put my hand up to get, um, mobility training on the cane. And then I got Mabel, and it's all sort of come around, and I really understand what it means now.
02:36S1
So how do you use social media to help educate people now, and why do you think that that's important?
02:45S2
Well, I started my social media in the beginning to for my family and friends so they'd know what it was like to live every day with a seeing eye dog. And as it progressed, I started educating people on, like, my mum wanted to know how to talk to somebody in a wheelchair or people want to. People didn't know what to say when they saw me with my cane and they would ignore me, whereas they see me with my guide dog and they can't talk enough to me. So there's a lot of different parts to it. And, I suppose I document that. Um, so people with that are going through their early days of going through, um, losing their vision, have got somewhere to look and, and get information, I suppose, that I didn't have when I was going through it in the early days.
03:34S1
And I guess kind of having gone through that journey yourself, thinking about, I guess, what someone else might be thinking or wondering or the questions that they might have, which you've, you've discovered is... really helpful because it's, that's your personal experience that someone might be able to relate to rather than, you know, words on a paper about people in general.
03:54S2
Yeah, that's right. I've got some people that follow me and they see me in the streets and they say, thank you for telling me to say my name when I come up and say hello to you. That's just a really small thing that's so helpful.
04:05S1
So when we're talking about, I guess, social media, and that's one of those things that actually, I think that it can be done really, really well and a little bit poorly. In terms of accessibility. So what are some of the things that we can do to make social media more accessible? In particular for people who are blind or have low vision?
04:26S2
So what I've started doing, and I didn't do it from the beginning because I didn't know I was uneducated myself. But what I've been doing now is putting a description of what the picture or the image looks like with the video, so that people that do have low vision, that have screen readers, they get an overall view of what the what's going on in the background and they can read. They screen reader will tell them the words and it is more inclusive.
04:53S1
And I guess that, and I guess that kind of takes a bit of into part of the fact that everyone's vision is different. So even for you, you might be able to, I guess, see or understand parts of what you are looking at. And then there are people that can see potentially almost the opposite. And then there's someone that can see absolutely nothing at all.
05:14S2
Yeah. That is, that's right. Even though I can see a small bit on the screen sometimes reading the video captions and, it's helpful in like, I can see a small amount, but I can't see what's going on in the background, and it's really helpful.
05:31S1
So how do the access rights of a dog handler such as yourself relate to the idea of inclusion?
05:39S2
Well. My dog is allowed to go most places. There's not many places she's not allowed. Most people know that and I don't get excluded very often. But it does help. It does often happen on, um, sometimes transport. I don't look blind. So people may think my dog's just not a proper seeing eye dog. People don't understand that. People don't have to look blind to be blind. That blinds the spectrum. So I think education is really important in showing people that not all blind people wear dark glasses and look blind.
06:18S1
And I suppose in terms of when we're looking at things like, um, you know, accessing public transport and just kind of hopping on a bus is something that, you know, people can really take for granted. But as someone who's got to sing it or gets your mobility aid and actually she needs to go on with you, it's not a case of just, oh, you can tire at a bus stop and then get on yourself and then pick her up on the way back.
06:41S2
That's exactly right. She needs to be with me everywhere I go. She's my mobility aid, my eyes, like she gives me confidence. She gives me independence. And I can catch a bus. I can catch a train, a tramp. Catching a flight tomorrow to Sydney. She makes it all very possible for me to do everything.
07:03S1
So you've also been involved with something called the Dirk or. Or maybe just call it DIRC. Could you please tell me a little bit about DIRC and what that means in your work there?
07:14S2
Okay. DIRC. The Disability Inclusion Reference Committee, and it's part of the Bendigo City Council. And we've been doing a lot of work in making the streets more accessible and Bendigo more accessible. The playgrounds. And that's not just for disabled people. It's for so disabled people being blind people, wheelchair people, but it's also helps people with prams or if the, if the streets are more accessible for people with a disability, it's going to help people that don't have a disability and it'll help the whole community.
07:50S1
So what are the types of things that you're, I suppose, looking at and who's on the council?
07:57S2
The things we are looking at doing is one of our projects was looking at how we could make the Bendigo Easter Fair more accessible to everyone. And I got a little win up on that one because this year they're going to do an audio version of the fair that goes past so that blind people can really enjoy it, as well as people that can see.
08:19S1
That's amazing. So it'll be kind of basically a bit of a reading out of what is going on for so everyone can understand...
S2
I guess that's right. Yeah. So you don't even have to be at the fair. You can. It's the radio stations doing it. Unfortunately, I don't know which radio station at the minute. I've just been told it's going ahead. But anyone can access it. Like people in aged care homes. They can enjoy it as well.
08:45S1
Oh, cool. So the local community, I guess, will benefit from that greatly. Of those people who weren't really able to access the fair before are now going to be able to be included in the Easter celebrations.
08:56S2
That's exactly right. And I'm really happy about that.
08:59S1
Well, what an exciting win for you guys. Thank you, thank you. Are there any other kind of, I guess, projects or things that you're working on, that you'd like to tell us about?
09:09S2
We've been working on, just some playgrounds around Bendigo and making them more accessible for not just blind people, wheelchairs, baby prams, that sort of thing. Toilet blocks around town are very inaccessible for a lot of people. So we've been working on that. So we've got a few little projects on the go, which is fun.
09:31S1
And it's really cool because it's not, from what you were kind of telling me before we started recording is that it's it's kind of taking into account, you know, the voices as well of not just you as someone who's blind, but other people with other disabilities, so that it's not just someone saying, okay, well, we're going to do this for disabled people. It's actually you guys being able to say what we need.
09:54S2
It's a committee of disabled people and some council people and some people that are really passionate about, um, inclusion. So it's a good part of the community to be part of.
10:05S1
And,yeah, something super cool to be able to kind of, I guess learn a bit more about and then, um, and then make some real change. So it's amazing that you can already actually, I guess, understand the impact of the work that you're doing.
10:18S2
Absolutely. And I feel really proud to be part of it.
10:23S1
So what is the kind of role of your seeing eye dog, Mabel, in your feelings of empowerment about being able to live the life that you choose?
10:32S2
When I first got Mabel, we'd just been through Covid and we stopped being out in society a lot, and I really lost my nerve. That says my eyesight was deteriorating over that time, so deteriorating over that time. And the moment I got Mabel, I said to myself, I'm not going to say no anymore. I'm going to put myself out there and she's going to help me do it, and I'm just doing it now. That's why I started my Instagram page.
11:02S1
And so for anyone who is not aware of your Instagram page or how to find it, what is your handle?
11:08S2
My handle is Clare and Mabel.
11:11S1
I mean that really. It's quite creative, isn't it? Your name, your dog's name.
11:17S2
Thank you. Very creative. And I'm actually finding it a really good outlet to be able to. Some days I'm angry if things happen and people are rude to me. Some days I'm really happy. And that's what the vibe I give off. Mostly it's, I suppose empowering for me to be able to put that content out and for people to see it. I've got quite a few puppy raisers watching me, and for them to see the finished item on what Mabel can do for me in my life, I think that's really important. And also for people that are maybe starting their journey on blindness, to be able to see life doesn't end by losing your vision. Life can still be fabulous.
12:00S1
Speaking as a public carer, I know it's I think it's wonderful to be able to, I guess, understand really what the final product is and also not just it being an abstract person, but, you know, um, you as someone who's using a seeing eye dog or, you know, you're doing the particular things that you're doing and being out and about, it's pretty cool to be able to, I guess, put, you know, faces to names and, and, you know, it's not just anonymous dog handler. And so for someone, I'm sure, who's blind, who's following your page and is not sure about what the next steps are or whether seeing artwork is right for them, they can also put themselves into your shoes kind of watching those videos.
So it's really valuable for, I think, people to be able to understand, I guess, that, you know, everyone is an individual who's using a dog or who's a woman or who's blind, or has a vision and that is that's really special. So thank you for sharing that with them, with us all.
12:53S2
Thank you very much.
12:54S1
And thank you for joining me on the show as well.
12:57S2
Lovely to be here.
13:04S1
We've been listening to the Seeing Eye Dogs Show on Vision Australia Radio. That was my interview for Clare Opie about International Women's Day. Now I'm joined by my second guest, Linda Blaik, to talk to us about her experiences and what inclusion it means to her. Thank you for listening and I hope you enjoy. Hi, Linda. Thank you for joining me on the show today.
13:25S4
Thank you for asking me.
13:26S1
So can you please just start off by introducing yourself? You know a bit about your family, hobbies and interests, work or anything you like.
13:34S4
All right, so I'm Linda Blaik, and I'm totally blind. I'm from Geelong. And hobbies? Hobbies. Family, family. I'm... husband David and three children. Three adult children now, and three grandchildren that are in their teens. All of them. So, hobbies. I'm, I love the theatre. I love, you know, life plays, and I love going to concerts and things like that. Love Irish music. I love Irish whiskey too.
14:09S1
Irish music in particular. Are you Irish?
14:13S4
Really, but felt very at home when I travelled to Ireland. So, yeah. No, always, always had a love for the music, but, quite like the food and the alcohol.
14:29S1
If there's one thing you can say about kind of people from the UK and Ireland is, not people, but that there's a pretty rich good culture of like whiskey in that type of stuff.
14:39S4
I think that's right. That's for sure. That's for sure. So and always very welcoming people too, you know. So, other hobbies: fundraising. I like to do a bit of fundraising, good coffees, catching up with girlfriends and just supporting people in general with, you know, all sorts of things. If there's something I can do for somebody, I'll go out of my way to do it.
15:05S1
And could you please introduce your seeing eye dog.
15:08S4
My seeing eye dog is, he's under the table. He's very good boy. He's a beautiful black golden retriever. And his name is Kev, Kevi. So Kevi is actually named after a girlfriend's husband who passed away. That was my husband's, you know, one of my husband's best mates, and he never got to see my previous dog and but always would say to me that he would, uh, he'd, he'd look after me. He'd be my, my, my seeing eye dog guide, dog slash dog guide. And so I did change this dog's name, and, I thought, Kev. Kev. Yeah. No, that's what we're having. And and it really fits. People say, oh, what a cool name, you know? Yeah.
S1
And it seems a fitting tribute. But he does. He is like Big Kevin.
16:00S4
Oh, yeah. Yeah. That's right, that's right. Yeah.
16:02S1
Because he's kind of big and hairy.
16:04S4
And he is very big. He got like a foxtail. People ask me if he's a Newfoundland. And I said, oh, from what miracle of a Newfoundland is not what Kitty is. So I don't know. He's a bit he'd be probably a probably another 20 kilos bigger. But, oh yeah. I got him when he was 16 months old. Very young, but excellent working dog. Excellent work. You know, he's 20 months old now.
16:30S1
So it is International Women's Day today. Could you please tell me a little bit about what International Women's Day and inclusion means to you?
16:38S4
Well, I'm no feminist by any means, but I do like a good gathering of women and, you know, females. And I think every year I try to go to the breakfast that they have in Geelong this year. Committee for Geelong usually host this or genu one of those, and nine times out of ten before I've scored a ticket without having to buy a ticket. This year, however, I did pay because I felt that, you know, Dokic was the speaker. Very worthwhile. The the presidents room at the [?] Gmhba Stadium in Geelong was filled to capacity. It was all sold out. Brilliant speaker. And really, it just goes to show that, when you, when there is something well worth, you know, women have such good stories and they need telling and when to have the triumphs and disappointments that you're going to have had and to come out on top and be so positive.
That's what this International Women's Day is all about, is positive outcomes for women, that have gone before sort of thing, telling us about them, reminding us that there's nothing that we can't do. And, you know, we're sitting there thinking about, you know, Eleanor was, Eleanor was telling her story of how bad it was for her and that she wakes up every morning with a smile and a positive attitude. And I think, oh, here I am. I've got, you know, I had these a couple of little issues. Well, they weren't little. I didn't think they were little. But thinking about what Eleanor went through that's mine are nothing compared to hers, you know, and I think I just think women coming together like that, filling a room with 700 women, all there to being not inspired, I'm not going to say inspired. And, you know, those, those words of inspiration and amazing and all those sort of things. That's not what Eleanor was all about. And that's not I'm not about that either.
And but it was it's just a great feeling that one day of the year, we can all come together. We're all there for the for one reason. And that's because it's International Women's Day and it's just the right way to start. That day is a breakfast with that many women. And I think, oh, sorry. I think as a, as a person with a disability to be at a table that you don't know who you're going to be sitting with. I used to I used to think to myself, I'm not good enough to be at that table, these tables. But I have since realised my worth is as much as theirs and that, um, somebody will talk to you regardless of whether I mean, I don't look visually impaired or blind, and they don't know until they either catch a glimpse of the dog or I reveal the fact. So today, nobody knew until this fella came out from under my chair. And then they were apologising to me and I said, I don't apologise. She said no, but I asked her to pass me something. But, so I do feel comfortable now with that. Sitting in a room eating breakfast with a knife and fork in front of all these people. All these women who sided with me. Yeah.
20:24S1
Are there any challenges that you face specific to being a woman with a disability?
20:33S4
Look, not me. No, I think I, I call it as I see it, so to speak. I don't take crap from people, and if people, what people see is what they get. No, what, what people get is what they say. I don't I don't have airs and graces. I, and if I think that something's not right, I will speak up about it. No, I don't I don't think, I don't think I've been discriminated against. But there are times where I've felt it's me. It's just me that I have felt not worthy or not, comfortable to be. Should I be here? You know, that sort of thing. But where I have, I've moved into a retirement village now with my husband, and there's a women's group every Monday, every once a month on a Monday. And I thought, oh, I'd really like to join it. And I thought, well, if I just, I should, I shouldn't. I and I walked up very gingerly the first day and they said, are you looking for something, Linda? And I said, is this the talking group? They said, yes. And I said, oh, beauty. And they said, do you want to sit down? And it was no issue.
22:05S1
No, no questions. No.
22:08S4
It's just come and see. Just say, here's a seat. And it was, you know, and I didn't feel intimidated. And I thought, oh, it's not too bad. They were just so they would pull a question and say, well, you know, I think the question the first question was, have you told, a lie lately or when what was the last lie you told? And I just and I just went, Oh. And they said, Oh, so you've told a lie. Who'd you tell? No, no, I'm sorry. And you've got to be honest and tell them. And, and I was, you know, and it just and I was a little bit dirty that I had to miss this week's catch up. But I feel comfortable with sighted women now because I feel as though I'm their equal now.
22:58S1
And I guess kind of getting getting to that realisation is probably quite freeing in some ways.
23:03S4
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't feel intimidated anymore. Whereas I would walk into a room before and I would slink into a corner. But now I will match up to a counter or, you know, as if we're having a coffee morning or something like that. I will just go and sit at any table now, whereas before I got to be invited. They might not want you there.
23:25S1
So what was the, what was the kind of change or how did you...
23:29S4
I just figured, I just figured that if you want to succeed in a place like the village, you know, a retirement village. Yeah, it is what you make it. And if I only had one, I only have one friend in there who's blind. But you can't be with that one friend all the time. You need to branch out. Yes. And have there are there are people there that that want to do the same things that I want to do. They want to go for a walk. They want they've got dogs. They want to do this. They want to do that. And I figure if I'm going to do these things and be involved and have some sort of a decent life in this village, I have to be involved and step forward and, you know, but prior to that, I would wait to be asked or, you know, have to get to know people really well before I would do anything but not never quite, you know, okay, about going and sitting down at a table with them and those sort of things.
24:24S1
So you mentioned before that you have kids or adult kids now and grandkids. So as a, as a kind of mother and grandmother who's blind, were there any adaptations that you made when raising your kids? Um, and was there anything that would kind of surprise people about being a mom or even a grandma with your bonus and addition?
24:45S4
Probably. There was one occasion when my son was a baby. Brand new baby. I lived in Melbourne in the suburbs of Melbourne then, and I can remember being at, coming out of Princess Bridge station back in those days, and I bumped somebody with my pram. And so I had vision then from somebody with the pram and I said, Oh, I'm sorry, and proceeded again and bumped him again. Well, he got stuck in and it turned out that there was a policeman in the middle of the, you know, crossing, directing traffic. And he actually came over to the curb and wanted to know what was going on. And I said, look, I said I was sorry that on vision impaired.
And he wanted then wanted proof that the baby in the pram was mine. Oh, if you're blind, how come you've got a baby? How come you've got a baby? And I said to him, this baby's seven weeks old. I don't care anything. I don't have anything. And he said, you must have something. Well, you you don't get a birth certificate overnight. I didn't have a, you know, it was just the child in the pram and saying it was my baby.
26:03S1
Where else would you have got this baby?
26:04S4
Well that's right, that's right. Anyway, I look I don't know what went on from that, but you know, there have been times where people say, you know, in, in, you know, recent, recent years, people will say, You've got children. I say, Yeah, yes. And they say, Oh, oh. And then when you say, you know, you used to babysit your grandkids, how did you how did you do that with no sight? Well, it's, I did wonder before I ever had children how I was going to do it. But, you know, you speak to women who have had babies prior to you and they say, Oh, you did this, you did that and put bells on. You do this, you do that.
And I mean, my kids are grown up. If you can get them to 21, then you've done a good job. I think you fed them, you've clothed them, you've educated them, and they've gone out and they've got work, they've got houses, they got married, they've got babies. You know, you've done well.
26:58S1
They've been well adjusted.
26:59S4
That's right, that's right.
27:01S1
Something's gone.
27:01S4
Yeah. And you don't need sight to be a mother. The times it would be fantastic. And I always felt like a what they call a helicopter mother these days where you're always wanting to know what the kid's doing. Yeah. Whereas sighted person can look out and see that they're poking a fork in the the electric socket.
27:20S1
Hopefully not.
27:21S4
But me, I had to go over and see if they were poking that point or something. That and that's you know, that that encroaches on their privacy, their personal space. Yeah. But yeah, look.
27:34S1
I guess they just have to grow and realize that that's what. That's right.
27:38S4
The reality is, and there was no special treatment because mum and dad had a vision impairment. You know, the kids will walk in the door, drop their bag in the on the floor and you'd fall over if you didn't. That was it. But yeah. So no, no special treatment. I think you got more respect from their, their peers than you did from. Yeah. Yeah.
27:56S1
Well, that kind of makes sense.
27:57S4
Yeah. That's right.
27:59S1
So do you, you so I, I think you've maybe mentioned, you are retired now. But what did you, how did you find your working life? As a woman who's blind, has low vision.
28:11S4
I think when I did work, so I worked in the, back in the 70s. So, I was married in 79, so I was very lucky that I didn't have to continue working after I had our first child. So, as a blind woman, I think I worked with a lot of women. I worked as on a switchboard with a, you know, a telephone list. Not too bad, but I think a little bit like schoolgirls. You know, there was always this. There was a picking at you. There was a, you know, look at me. You know, you're not. You're not looking at me. You're... I'm over here. So there were the odd women that sort of give you a bit of, yeah, correct. But I didn't look it, I didn't care, could brush it off. Yeah, yeah, yeah. These days. So previously, probably, the first year of Covid, I was working with NDIS prior to that for 5 or 6 years, and that was in the recruitment area. So, sitting in on interviews, for, you know, candidates being interviewed.
29:32S1
So people looking for NDIS support.
29:34S4
No, NDIS appointments. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that was if there was a job that is was valuable. That was one that I thought was probably the most important job I'd ever had in my life. Yeah. Um, these days they don't have anybody doing well. They do have people with disability on some of the panels, but not all. I believe that all disability organisations and service providers should have a person on every interview panel that has a disability if you're employing for disability, and that's my personal view. But, lived experience is I just say that should be happening, but it's not. So I was six years with NDIS, and that was travelling all over Australia with interviews and different people.
So I got to work with various levels of staff from, you know, planners right up through to, not CEOs, of course, but, but, you know, ones and twos and those sort of things so fairly high and you know, directors in some cases as well. So, that was really good. Really enjoyed that. I also then, you know, I'd been doing consultancy work with individual areas that, you know, Deakin University, I do, I speak to four year, four OT students just in relation to vision impairment and where they might want to take their OT skills into the future. A bit of work for you with their aged care. And when they're training staff to go out and work with clients.
31:33S1
What's tenu, is that a genu...
31:35S4
It's a service provider in Geelong. Okay. Yeah. Sorry. And just, in the past, I had a business with a girlfriend, and we did a lot of disability awareness through the Gordon TAFE in Geelong and different organisations. Just, on giving out the disability awareness stuff. So... and then, the other stuff that I and I'm about to get back into again is, is volunteering. So I've always volunteered. Who have I volunteered.... So I have volunteered for Guide Dogs Victoria, I have volunteered for, the Red cross, and I am about to take up a volunteering, one day a week with the Magpie Nest. That is a Collingwood initiative that works out of Bourke Street in Melbourne, feeding the homeless and, you know, organising lunches and those sort of things.
I won't be doing that. I'll be I'll be attending on a Wednesday when they have what they call a community day, and they have organisations come in and just mingle with people who are there. And I feel that, you know, the dog will probably be more beneficial out of harness, of course, to people than me trying to serve a meal that I might. Still in their lap. So...
33:06S1
And that's organised through Collingwood.
33:08S4
It is. Yes. Yes. So I'll be doing that obviously doing that in the next month. So yeah.
33:13S1
So how, how do you kind of find that Kevi helps you get out about doing that kind of volunteer work?
33:20S4
I think look, a dog is an icebreaker, and I, you know, some people don't like the fact that somebody will get in a lift and say hello to the dog, whereas it doesn't bother me. There's the, there's the ice broken straight away. You know, they might say Good looking dog. And I say, no, thank you very much. It goes on to another bit of conversation. It, he, look, I don't think he'll have any problems, handling the Nest. Because we'll walk from Southern Cross Station, straight up Bourke Street to where it is. Yeah. And look, he's he's very good at doing what he's told. You know, if it's sit and stay, he'll sit and stay and he'll sit and stay for as long. But I've forgotten him once or twice and. No, I've said sit and stay. And he's still sitting there when I come in. Oh, mate. Where did you get...
34:18S1
Where did you go?
34:20S4
Yeah. That's right, that's right. But, so, look, I think he's really going to help in his own way too. So looking forward to that.
34:32S1
So do you have any messages for women who are blind or have low vision in particular about inclusion?
34:41S4
Ah. Inclusion. I think it's being confident enough to know that you're worth is as much as theirs. Don't ever think that it's not. I mean, for a long time, I didn't think I was worthy, but, you know, you see women day in and day out that have achieved unbelievable things, you know, um, things that I think that I could never do that could never do that. But you don't know until you're in that position. And I think if you strive for if you want inclusion, you have to put yourself forward. There's none of this halfhearted inclusion. It's, you're either in or you're not. It's you know, there are some people who want, when it comes to they're happy to be involved, but the next minute something goes wrong or I'm vision impaired or I... Well, that's not, that doesn't cut it. You know, there's no sense wanting to be on their level but then dropping back into the Woe is me level.
35:56S1
I guess embracing kind of any mistakes too, because everyone's human.
36:00S4
That's right. Yeah. It's, you know, put your put your right foot forward and just, you know, dip it in the water first. And if it's, if it'll feel good, you know, and I think just, just have the courage and I think it will make all the difference if you can just start a conversation, and just see where it goes. It it leads to amazing places. It really does.
36:34S1
And just to finish off, do you have any messages for the general public, including kind of any supporters of volunteers and stuff of seeing items?
36:44S4
Do I have a message? I think, the message I would leave is, if you if you want to do something worthwhile, give Seeing Eye Dogs a call, in puppy, raise a dog or puppy raise a pup. I've seen these little puppies and they're so cute. And they turn into the wonderful. Most of them turning to what I've got under the table here. Beautiful, working, seeing eye dog. If you want to volunteer in another capacity, Ring Vision Australia or Seeing Eye Dogs. To the public, I think, so if you see a blind person in the street visually impaired or a blind person in the in the street, don't assume, don't always assume that we need help, because sometimes we do, sometimes we don't. If you help without asking, you're probably going to get your head bitten off.
Me, I obviously have this look that I get that says to people, She's lost or she doesn't know where she is. That always gets people to say, Are you right? And as soon as I say it, I say, no, let me take you up. So, I'm not scared in asking for help either. I will quite often ask people in the street for help, but I think, the rule of thumb is don't assume we need it. Always ask if we need it or how you can help me with what I might need. That's about it, I think.
38:23S1
Well, thank you so much for coming on site and, uh, bringing Kevin, and joining me on the show today.
38:31S4
Not to worry. Thank you very much for having me.
38:33S1
And a happy International Women's Day.
38:34S4
Thank you.
38:42S1
You've been listening to the Seeing Eye Dogs show on Vision Australia Radio. This has been our International Women's Day special with guests Clare Opie with her seeing eye dog Mabel, and Linda Blaik with her seeing eye dog Kevi. If you'd like to find out more about seeing idols, The work we do, or how you can help, head to our website at sed.visionaustralia.org ...
This has only been the first part of my interview with Linda, as we had a lot to chat about this interview, so if you'd like to find out the rest of the interview with Linda and listen, it will be online on our podcast platform, on the FM, or your preferred podcast provider at the Seeing Eye Dogs Show. So head to that preferred podcast provider and listen to the rest of the interview, as well as a number of great other Vision Australia radio shows and Singing idols episodes. Thank you for listening and don't forget to tune in same time next week for another episode of The Seeing Eye Dogs Show on Vision Australia Radio.
