00:11 S1
On Vision Australia Radio, you're listening to the Seeing Eye Dogs Show with me, your host, Harriet Moffat. Today I have Seeing Eye Dogs handler Kerry Taunton joining me on the show. Kerry talks with us about her life up in Cairns and her new partnership with seeing eye dog Pearl and life with retired seeing eye dog Minka. We talk about how she went from the challenges of cancer treatment and losing her sight to gain the confidence and positive attitude she has today. Now here is the interview with Kerry. I hope you enjoy. Hi, Kerry. Thank you for joining me on the show today.
00:51 S2
Oh, hi. How are you?
00:53 S1
So I'd love to talk to you a little bit about about your life and about your partnership with your Seeing Eye dog. So could you start off by please introducing yourself?
01:01 S2
Yeah, I'm Kerry Taunton and I live in Cairns and I have two seeing eye dogs. I actually have one retired, one named Minka, and I now have got Pearl, which is she's only been with me for probably nearly three months.
01:18 S1
How old is Minka? How long were you working with her before she's retired?
01:21 S2
Yeah, nine and a half. I've had her since she was just two. So. Yeah, nine and a half. And I got my first dog back in 2007. 2008 maybe. Yeah.
01:34 S1
Looking back on it, do you remember why you decided to apply for your first seeing eye dog?
01:39 S2
Yeah, I was working as a hairdresser in Mareeba, and one of our clients used to have a seeing eye dog called Bonnie and I just remember her, this very old lady walking down the street, and nothing stopped her. She could go anywhere with this dog and including coming in to get a haircut. And she lived four blocks away. So I just when I did lose my sight, which was quite quickly, I rang seeing eye dogs straight away and I said, I need a dog, I need a dog, I've gone blind, I need a dog. And they said, it doesn't happen like that. We have to come up and do some paperwork with you and meet you. And and there's a lot to do. You're not going to get one, you know, next week. It's just not going to happen.
So, they send somebody up and some paperwork and they ended up scheduling in an interview. And within probably nine months, eight months. I just got the phone call that miss Hope was on her way, and I had to get my backside down to the Gold Coast. It was a good adventure, and I was down there for three weeks, and it was my first dog ever.
02:48 S1
And how how long did Hope work with you?
02:52 S2
Until she was nearly 11. Yeah. Lovely. Yeah. And I'm on my third dog now, But that's the thing. They're they're just not here long enough and they're heartbreakers. Yeah. That's the only sad bit is they're heartbreakers. But you do bond with them in a special way, you know? I mean, Pearl hasn't been to Myers with me yet, but when she gets to Myers, we're going to go to the fitting room. And if I think one hound has seen me with nothing on, I'm going to keep her for the whole time, because I don't need her gossiping about any bits I've got wobbling, if you know what I mean.
03:31 S1
Don't judge. Which is quite nice, you know.
03:33 S2
Yes. They don't judge you. Unconditional love they have. Especially these ones. This, this, this pearl. She follows me from room to room. Minka. Minka still does, but not as much as what Pearl does. Yeah, just that doesn't leave you alone. Follows you from room to room. And I don't just mean the kitchen and clean up aisle four and the kitchen, but... she follows me everywhere. Yeah. Clothes line, bathroom, and I mean everywhere.
04:00 S1
So would you say that you've got quite a bit of a bond now?
04:04 S2
Yes, definitely. So quickly too. It happens so quickly with Pearl. I just feel that the trainer, Justin, came up and he spent a good two, two days with me, and I think he got to know my personality and what my activity level was like, and he matched the dog's personality to my personality. So it's not just a matter of ringing up, and they'll come and give you a dog and and you're on your own. They, they sort of really investigate the person and then they pick the appropriate dog for the person. It's it's really well done the way they do it. Because, you know, the dogs are, the whole three dogs that I've had have really matched my quirky personality.
04:57 S1
So what is the kind of day in the life of you and Pearl? Like? What do you get up to?
05:03 S2
Okay, so, we get up early and I feed her and let her go out and do her jobs, and then I get her ready in a harness and the harness, because it's still dark, and we get up at 430 to 5, and we start walking at 5:30. It's still dark up here in far north Queensland. So we have neon lights on us around pearls neck. There's flashing neon lights and then I wear a hat that has one. And when the trainer came up, I gave him a collar to wear around his neck as well with neon lights so I could see him when he was behind me. And we walk with two other people with two other dogs. So they're all nehonde up as well. So we're known as the lion chicks of Cairns. But yeah. And we and that is because that way I can see where they all are at night.
And that's, that's benefit for me, really. You know, we're not we're not doing a lighting show for the public, but it's mainly for myself. And then we come home and I pack Pearl's lunch and minka's lunch, and then the I get ready for work and the ride share car is here for us about 7:00 and I take both dogs to Mulgrave Complete Care on Sheridan Street, which is a disability organisation. So here I am helping people with disabilities and the dogs are also there to keep it peaceful and relaxed, if you know what I mean. The, sometimes the... participants, the clients come in on their three hour support work, where they normally go food shopping or go to the doctors, and they just come into the hub and they'll sit on the floor with the dogs and pat the dogs for an hour and a half, two hours.
So not only, you know, are they helping me, but they are also helping other people in the community. And the dogs love getting pats and cuddles from all these other people as well. I mean, yeah, their tails are wagging when somebody walks through the office door. Yeah.
07:16 S1
So yeah, the kind of, basically a dual role. So the retired one has her, you know, her new job is therapy dog. And then Pearl's kind of got two hats on with me.
07:24 S2
Yeah, yeah, Pearl's with me most of the time. She, you know, she hardly ever leaves my side at all. When I'm at work, Minka. However, she'll go from office desk, from office desk to office desk, and it sits out in the foyer and greets everybody as they come through the door. But Pearl does not actually move unless I say, you know, you can go and I'll take her harness off her, and then she'll go down into the hub and and be and they'll throw the toy and she'll go and catch it and or whatever they want to do with her. But she's never, ever. Yeah. She's always loved. And then...
08:02 S1
She's still your working dog, though, whereas Minka is kind of a bit more of a lady nature these days.
08:06 S2
Yeah. So when I go to to get lunch, I'll... make sure that Minka is looked after at the office, and I'll take Pearl out, and we all go down to the sushi bar or to Victor's delicatessen, and we'll get something to eat. And then I come back. But what we're going to be doing in the near future is I'll be going to disability network meetings, and Pearl will be assisting me at going to those sort of things, because I'll be the representation for the the Mulgrave Complete Care. So, Menqa, sorry. Pearl will be coming with me to do that. And that's like north as far as Gordonvale, south as far as Gordonvale and Port Douglas for the north. So we'll be doing some travelling.
08:56 S1
Well, it'll be pretty cool to be sharing those new adventures with Pearl. I mean, it's not been very long in your kind of partnership, that you've already got some pretty good plans ahead.
09:05 S2
Yeah. So she's just slipped so nicely into my... lifestyle. On the weekend, my husband shoots clay shooting, you know, with a competition. And I took both dogs to that. And I think they made the local newspaper for that one, but they loved that. You know, it was even though that the the guns were they weren't too loud because I was in the clubhouse. But Minka's been many times before, and it was Pearl's second time going, so she didn't have any problems with the the noise, but it wasn't that loud anyway. But you know, they... did clay shooting back years ago, when they used the Labradors were bred to get the ducks out of the pond. After they had... the hunters had hit the duck, and then the Labradors used to go in and pick up the duck and bring it back.
10:02 S1
Yeah, true. It's very natural for a lab. It's, yeah. Instinctive.
10:06 S2
Basically there's, he's very, very, expensive guns there that... are absolutely, showpieces with bronze and gold all over them. And my husband just brings the real labs along. So, you know, they we got the real dogs. We don't, you know. Yeah. Anyway, yeah. So they go out and then we go to the beach as well on a Sunday usually. And they love that as well. They get around a bit these two hounds.
10:36 S1
And how do they get on kind of introducing the new one to the old one? Not old experienced, I mean.
10:42 S2
Yeah, yeah. No, we did two days without Minka, and then, Paul, the trainer from SEDA, said to me, How about we bring Minka into the deal? I said, yep, okay. So my husband brought Minka in and we met down the park the next day. She was back home and they got on extremely well. Actually, Pearl's so young, so she's only 18 months old, but she was sort of like galloping around on the spot, excited to see another Labrador. But, yeah, they get on extremely well. And yeah, they eat together, they sleep together, they go to work together and they socialise together. So they do get on extremely well. But I've had to get a bigger lounge because I've got a black one on the left and then the white one on the right and me in the middle.
11:34 S1
But you wouldn't have it any other way. You know. You've got one of each. Its, variety is the spice of life.
11:38 S2
Yeah. So this is my first black lab. And she's so shiny. And being a hairdresser from the past, I do like her shiny black fur. Yeah. So she's a beautiful dog, and she's so sensitive. Yeah, she's just so... They did a good job matching us up. She's just beautiful.
12:00 S1
I feel like if you have that much kind of praise to say in three months, it'll be very, it'll be interesting to see how you're kind of... yeah. In a year, you'll be inseparable.
12:09 S2
Oh, gosh. Yeah, yeah. Well, it that's the sad bit is when they, it's time for them to get their wings and and and fly but, yeah. It's... you never forget them, ever. And they just make such a big difference to your life. You know, there's no such word as can't in my world. You know, I if someone says You can't do that, Kerry, it's like, Hang on a minute, Pearl. And I can do that, or Minka and I can do that. I can do that because I've got Minka, I could I'll just take Minka, you know, and now I've got Pearl. I'll say, oh, well, I can do that now because I've got Pearl. But, if I don't have a dog, I am very housebound. I don't leave the house very often. I wouldn't even go into work. I'd work from home if I had to. But yeah. No, the dogs definitely have made a big a big, big, big, thing in my life.
It's it's changed my whole world. I can catch a train. I can catch a bus, I can, I'm catching a plane. We're going to Perth in about three months time. Yeah. Pearl and I will go to Perth for seven days, I think. Yeah, yeah, we're going over there so I it'll it'll be a five hour flight And... they are trained to hold on to their number ones for at least seven hours, so, you know, and, they're very well trained in that respect. So she'll sleep most of the way. Apparently. Paul said she did that from Melbourne up to Cairns. So...
13:49 S1
She's done it before so she can do it again.
13:52 S2
Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So, well, we're going to go and do that in September, I think, or October, the first week of October. Yeah.
14:01 S1
And is that just for for fun, do you have any specific kind of exciting plans that you're going to, you know, get up to over there?
14:07 S2
Oh, we're going over there to see the Quokkas. Oh, I just hope she doesn't, you know, think it's a soft toy. I want to go and get it. But yeah. No, we're going to go and see the quokkas. So yeah, I mean I'm interested to see them because I didn't get to see them last time I was over there because the weather was bad. So I've chosen a couple of months later this time to have a go. But the beaches are beautiful. And the, and, the the sand is so white. But you can. The smell of the ocean. It smells beautiful, you know, it's very seaweed ish. You know, it's different to the tropics up here. And there's no lizards over there, neither in the water, you know. You know the crocodiles.
14:49 S1
Yeah, I was going I was going to say I don't think... Melbourne doesn't have crocodiles, but we also don't have particularly nice beaches according to other states. I mean, I don't mind Melbourne beaches. But, you know, I've heard that the Perth beaches are a bit better.
15:03 S2
Well, I was actually born in Melbourne in... well, back when I was born there it was called Brighton. But now I do believe it's called Brighton and I'm proudly to say I was born in Brighton and the waterfront there, it... that's what it smells like in Perth. And that's what it reminds me of that waterfront at in Brighton there that it's just it's got that nice seaweed sort of smell, the ocean smell. And we don't get that in Cairns at all. We get yeah, it's different smell in the tropics.
15:38 S1
So when we spoke before this interview, you kind of mentioned you had a bit of a story even before you had your seeing eye dogs. Would you mind telling us a little bit about how you kind of lost your sight and then, and I guess some of the challenges that you've overcome to kind of get to where you are now.
15:54 S2
Yeah. Uh, back in 2002, 2003, I was diagnosed with... a stage four of a stage five breast cancer. And that was quite harsh in itself. And I went, under I went straight, they took me straight to Brisbane, and they put me back, put me straight on to chemotherapy. And the first sort of chemotherapy was okay, but they had to do another lot. And I did another lot, and I had a little bit of a break. And then I did another lot. And they said to me before they did the third lot, he said to me, You're down to 42 kilos. I think that you should go home and sort yourself out because I'm thinking that, you know, about 18 months is all you've really, really got. And I thought to myself, you know, there's...
I leant across the desk of the doctor and I said to the doctor, have you ever used milk past the Due By date? And he said, now what's that got to do with it, Kerry? And I said, well, don't you tell me when my due date's up. I'll be telling you. So book me in for that last lot of chemo and we'll see how we go. Well, the last lot of chemo, he upped the dose of the steroids, which causes glaucoma, and I'd had so much of it in the past that my pressure's anything over 20 is, uh, glaucoma, and you need drops. But my right eye was 97. My left eye was 89 or 80, 91 or something like that. So I was rushed down to Cairns for laser and within four days I'd lost my right eye. Totally. It's gone. And, um, my left eye has 10%, which means the peripheral vision is gone. But in the middle there's a little bit in the middle and it's a bit cloudy. So I'm, I just keep hanging on to that 10% because 10% is better than zero.
And I will say the first six months of that happening, I did pull all the curtains in the lounge room and turned all the lights off and sat there and sulked for six months. And then an old cowboy friend came in and he says to me, Do you want to come and interview some cows? Kerri-anne which means, do I want to go out and look at his cows in the paddock? And I said No... he says, Well, come on, you can't see, you won't be getting much done in here in this dark room. How about we step out into the sunshine? And I kind of trusted him. And I went out and he put a lead rope from my horse to his horse... and that from that day onwards, I've never looked back. I have gone in leaps and leaps and bounds since then.
I've taken... a game fishing boat from Cairns to the Gold Coast. It took us nine days, but it was just my husband and I on the boat, and he changed all the ropes that were white out to black because the decking was white. I've just done so, so much. There's been no stopping us. I've been out fishing and been out to the... with Hope. Hope went out to the right, out onto the reef with us as well. And we went out and we caught some big fish, some really, really big fish that I couldn't even hold up. And it was just like everything that I've done since then has just been, you know, I'm not going to let this beat me. I've lost my sight, but I haven't lost me, and I haven't lost my arms and legs, and I can still talk. So which I, you know, as you know, I can talk under water with two doughnuts in my mouth.
But, yeah, I, there's nothing stopping me. There's nothing you can't, can't do. And every like I've been for two, I've had two jobs since then. I had my last job for many, many years. And I got retailer of the year, for the whole of Australia. That was not last year, but the year before. And then I got this new job with NDIS, and before I even went for the job interviews, my husband says, well, you know, we'll have to plan your lunches and we'll have to get a lunch box. And I'm going, But I haven't even got the job yet. He says, I don't doubt you won't get the job. You've already got it. Don't think like that. And I think, Yeah, okay. Yeah, I've already got I've got to get my work clothes out and get someone to match my shoes, because I'm likely to wear a black shoe and a blue shoe. Oh, or two different black shoes, you know.
But yeah. So it... nothing's an issue. You know, you've really got to pick your bottom lip up off the floor and get out there and start living because you only get one go at this. And without without change we cannot grow. And time and tide waits for no man. So you know in when the, in my resumes. When they say describe three words that represent yourself I always go ready, set, go. I mean, the honest, the loyal and punctual is always in there. But ready, set, go is my three words to describe myself. because I just don't let anything bother me. You know, if anything comes up that's too hard to climb. And they go. Especially when sometimes when families say to me, Kerry Anne, you can't do that. Okay, well, now that you've said, I can't do it, I'm going to do it, you know, so don't put the word "can't" in there because I'm going to do it.
But not one of them will give me their keys to their car, I don't understand that, you know, but there's been a feedback at work with my work placement, and... they asked me would there be anything that they could do for me to make my job easier? And I've said, yes, you could buy me a Tesla. And then the Pearl and I can go cruising in it.
21:57 S1
But yeah, a self-driving car sounds pretty good when they work that one out.
22:01 S2
I can't see why NDIS won't let us have one of those. You know, I think everyone should have, you know, one of those in their plans. Yeah.
22:12 S1
I mean, it's a pretty cool mindset to have really, isn't it? You know, you've gone from kind of you sitting in literal darkness to, out and about. And I was going to say, I feel like for anyone who's kind of in particular just got a recent diagnosis who's maybe listening to the show, that's going to be some pretty kind of good, yeah, like advice or like perspective to... take in.
22:34 S2
Yeah. No, there's honestly there's nothing that you cannot do. Get back on that horse and ride it because the horse is always waiting there for you, you know? So you fell off, wipe dust yourself off and get back on it because you're not going to learn sitting around feeling sorry for yourself. You've really got to get out there and and say, look, put your head up high and say, and own it and just go straight out there and go, right, I got this, I got this, I can do this. You know, and what makes you so strong is you're not alone. You've got that little baby girl walking beside you on, on a handle. And she makes me feel ten foot tall and six foot wide. She just gives me all the confidence in the world. Because I know that if I say, take me home, Pearl, she'll get me home, you know?
23:26 S1
So do you have any kind of particular messages for any kind of members of the general public that you would like to share about kind of your life and being a handler?
23:35 S2
Just when you see somebody that's got a seeing eye dog or even a guide dog, make room for them. Because sometimes the the public just keep walking while they're on their phone and walk into us. You know, they don't... a lot of the younger people of today are too busy looking on their phone, and the e-scooters are scooting past you and these cars are getting very silent. And you know, we our one of our senses get heightened. So my hearing is extremely good. My eyes might be broken, but my hearing has improved and I don't hear I mean, I don't see what what other people are looking at, but I can hear, you know, really good. And I they just don't look where they're going and they walk into us, or they'll startle you before and they'll go, Oh, sorry. And that'll startle yourself and the dog.
But yeah. So I just tell her, find a way now. And she finds weaves her way through the crowd. Find the way, Pearl. Find the way. And she just weaves her way through. So now I do think that the SED are trying to, seeing eye dogs, have let me know that they're going to get some kind of noise put on the e-scooters so that we can hear them. There's been some legislation or something about putting some sort of sounder on the, the e-scooters so we can hear them coming, but yeah, so they're doing the training with the dog by saying, you know, find find the way, find the way. And they just weave through the crowd.
25:19 S1
And it's really. Yeah, it's... really important for anyone to think about if they've been riding one of those e-scooters to one, be mindful of where you are going when you're riding it, but also where you're leaving it, because those are a big obstacle. Aren't they sitting? They are sitting on. Yeah, yeah.
25:35 S2
Yeah. And I've noticed that. See now now that I've got the upgrade model Pearl because when I had, when I first had Hope she didn't do escalators or anything like that. And that was good because we didn't have escalators in Cairns. And then Minka came along and I was told, well, this one does escalators. And I went, Oh, well, we've got a new brand new shopping centre and it's got an escalator. And I've been using the lift because I couldn't use the escalator. So now I've got the upgrade model, which is Pearl, and it's like driving with power steering. She just it feels weightless beside me. She's so, so well trained, you know, she's so close to me. And I just say, find the way. And if there's a palm frond on the pavement, which there's a lot of palm fronds in Cairns, she'll just weave me around it and I just go with it because I know there's something on the path. You know, the trust is in the dog, you know? But you've got to... because I've got a little bit of sight, you know, I look a bit harder and I work out what she's trying to maneuver me around. But yeah, I, I do see that when I, when she slows down and takes me to the left hand side, I know that there's something there. And then I look down and I see it and I go, Oh, thanks Pearl. Saved my knees. You did.
26:53 S1
Well, thank you so much for joining me on the show and chatting about you and Pearl. It's been, yeah. Really cool to hear your interesting story coming from, yeah, from 18 months to live to very much living your best life.
27:08 S2
Oh, yes. Definitely. And thank you so much for... having us. The whole three of us. Actually, Minka's in the background, Pearl sitting beside me and myself.
27:24 S1
You've been listening to the Seeing Eye Dogs Show on Vision Australia Radio. I hope you enjoyed this interview with seeing eye dog handler Kerry Thornton. If you've listened to this and are blind, or have low vision and are wondering about beginning your own seeing eye dog journey, our friendly client Services team would love to speak with you about your own circumstances and mobility needs. You can head to our website to find out about client services at sed.visionsustralia.org - forward slash services... or give us a ring on 1800 037 773 or email us at info@sed.visionaustralia.org to find out about client services and the application process for a seeing eye dog. We are also looking for more wonderful new puppy carers in select regions of Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria to raise puppies to create more partnerships like Kerry and Pearl.
You can head to our website to learn about puppy caring or our other volunteering programs to find out about that. Seeing eye dogs, the work we do, or getting involved with volunteering? Head to said Vision australia.org. That website again is sed.visionaustralia.org
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 and podcast.
