Life of a puppy carer: Angela with Kirrip

00:10S1

On this episode of The Seeing Eye Dogs Show on Vision Australia radio and podcast. I'm Harry Moffatt, your host, and I have two features to share with you. First, I'm joined by Seeing Eye puppy carer Angelica with puppy Kurup. Angelica and Kurup are one of our first Poppy and Cara teams based in Sydney, so we're going to talk about what it's like raising a puppy there, Angelica's life, raising a puppy in an apartment and how she puppy cares whilst working as a music teacher and acting coach. Then I have some very exciting news to share with our listeners about our canine co-host Iris, who has been part of this program, albeit silently and in the background since January of 2022. Stay tuned for our update on Iris and her singing Idol journey. And now here's my interview with Angelica. Hi, Angelica, thank you for joining me on the show today.

01:03S2

Thank you for having me.

01:05S1

So you are a first time puppy carer. Could you please introduce yourself or can we talk a little bit about, yeah. The life of a puppy carer.

01:14S2

Right. Yes. Well, as you said, my name is Angelica. I'm a singing acting coach, and I live in the North Sydney area. Uh, first time puppy carer. And my puppy is five months old. And my son, who's 20 years old, is a co-carer. So there is two of us, which is great.

01:33S1

Was that always the plan, for him to kind of get on board as a co-carer?

01:39S2

Yeah, I mean, I from the beginning I was thinking, right, I want him to be on board. So that happened fairly quickly. And I was thinking, you know, he would the puppy would perhaps go to university with my son, for example. Yeah, but it does mean that my son can can take him out in public, which is great.

02:01S1

Has he taken Kirrup to uni yet?

02:04S2

He hasn't yet. The plan was always for it to be 2024. Yeah. And here it's very, very good on public transport and getting out and about and around. So I think he would be perfectly good at uni now. So I'll keep you posted on that one.

02:21S1

Oh how exciting.

02:23S2

Yeah. It is, it's really exciting. And I think, but, you know, my son Elijah, he's just helpful, even just for toileting. It's it's such a great thing to have someone else, to help and be part of the puppy journey.

02:38S1

And and sometimes just the actual extra pair of hands is quite nice to have, I think.

02:43S2

Absolutely. This is exactly, exactly right. It's fantastic to have that other person. And Elijah, of course, absolutely loves ketchup. Yeah.

02:55S1

So are they best friends? Do you like competing for love? I think it's quite funny.

03:02S2

We're not competing for love. Um, Kip loves us both. I think he does care. Leans towards me. Definitely. And Elijah is okay with that? Uh, but I do do the lion's share of of everything. But Elijah, as I said, is excellent.

03:21S1

Excellent. So you've kind of mentioned your your public hearing that this is the first time. How long have you been caring for now?

03:30S2

So it's been five months. Did come as an eight week old. Which is, of course, a very young puppy. And he, yeah. So it's been five months, very busy.

03:43S1

Very busy at that time really flies. I feel like in my mind, it'll probably. It probably feels to you like it was only yesterday that he was eight weeks. Or maybe not anymore.

03:57S2

No, I mean, it's even, you know, friends and my students and, everybody that knows Kirrip, they can't they they are still getting over the shock of him growing up so much because he is a big boy for, uh, seven months. He's quite a big boy. So, yeah, it's just he was so little. And of course, you can tell that when you look at the little bed that he used to sleep on or or his first toy that he still has. So there's all that.

04:28S1

So could you please kind of introduce Kirrip? Um, yeah. Tell us a little bit about him.

04:34S2

Okay, so Kirrip is a seven month old male yellow Labrador. And very specially he was named for Nordic Week 2023. The name Kirrip is an indigenous name. And it means friend, which is beautiful.

04:53S1

It's such a lovely name. I think that meaning is so, it's so perfect for for seeing our dogs. And it's great that we can honor that kind of cultural heritage in that way.

05:04S2

Absolutely. It's really, really lovely. And, you know, people will ask what his name is and I will say carob sounds like syrup, but with a K. And then and then I will we'll explain about his, uh, his naming and, uh, and what the name means. So people really love that.

05:25S1

And it's a very cool, I guess, education piece for, um, for some of the public who have probably never kind of or some, some have never particularly thought about. Yeah, naming a dog in another language, let alone, and an indigenous one to Australia to.

05:40S2

Absolutely. And just the fact that, you know, in Australia, seeing eye dogs invites certain community indigenous community groups to, to name a puppy is just a marvelous thing. I think it's wonderful. So I'm very proud of Kirrip and that he's an adult, a 2023. Yeah. Okay. Yeah.

06:04S1

And and you always you always want those kind of dogs that are special names to carry on that legacy. And it sounds like he's doing a pretty good job.

06:10S2

He is. He's a good boy. He's a very good boy. So yes.

06:15S1

So what is the kind of typical day in your lives together?

06:20S2

Yeah, we have pretty busy days. Um, I, I my work is generally in the afternoon into the evenings, and I also work on a Saturday, so I tend to have mornings off this morning, for example, you know, after toileting and breakfast, we head out, to do something, generally a training walk, but it could be with friends. Or we could hop on a bus into the city. This morning we went across Military Road, which is a big busy road, uh, and had a look at one of the little enclosed parks. And we were lucky because there was no other dogs there. And, and Kurt was able to have a play off-lead.

06:59S1

A bit of a leg stretch.

07:00S2

Have a little leg stretch. And, and so that was lovely. And after a training walk in the morning, we'll, we'll head back home and happy to sleep for a few hours so I can go out and do what I need to do or do what I need to do at home. And then towards the afternoon, I have my students start to come in. He will greet them all, and so they know him well, and he'll generally be happy to relax and sleep, uh, while the singing is going on. And if he's feeling a little bit overwhelmed, he'll put himself into bed, or I can give him something to play with. But he's a very good boy, and, yeah.

07:45S1

What what what's the reaction to singing? You know, I mean, I'm guessing so. Yes. Probably depends on the genre that you're singing. Some of it would be quite loud and interesting sounding for a dog.

07:55S2

It sure is. And I actually have a PA system here. So we use the microphone. And so it's the real deal. It's not quiet singing. Uh, and my singers are all very different. I'm a contemporary style teacher, so it's not classical. It's all other styles. Secure it. Definitely like some of the singing. Some of it's too loud for him.

S1

Yeah.

08:19S2

And then he'll pop himself into is crate, into his bed, and and just rest away from, from that because some of the singers are really big singers.

08:29S1

Yeah.

08:30S2

And yeah, but he's, very noise tolerant, let's say.

08:36S1

And it's it's very good practice. Just in case he does end up with someone quite musical in his future role.

08:43S2

Absolutely. We're of the same mind. You might end up with a musician. Yeah.

08:49S1

Fingers crossed. It will be quite nice. We've got a few handlers out there that are amazing musicians. And you see the dog on stage, and it's quite, quite special. So it feels like it could be a very good path for him.

09:00S2

Definitely. I mean, he certainly would be. It wouldn't be foreign to him. He certainly is. Musical orientated dog. He has no choice.

09:13S1

Yeah. Probably trial by Fire. If that was fire. 

09:17S2

But he's he's quite comfortable. And he, you know, just it's just having him having that choice to either be, you know, lying around where the singer is or taking himself off and having a rest. So he that choice and and does. That's good.

09:32S1

So where are you based in Australia and what is your home like?

09:38S2

Well, we we are based, um, in a in a city area. I'm actually in Neutral Bay, which is a very, very busy sitting area and city. I beg your pardon? Area. And we live in an apartment.

09:55S1

Ah.

09:56S2

So I think that's a little bit unusual. With with the Seeing Eye Dog puppies. And yeah, but we live in an apartment, so we're on the first floor. We have lifts and stairs and, in on day to day care. It has to go down, you know, to toilet in a lift. He can't just walk straight out the door. So it's quite different. He can't just walk. He does not have a backyard. An enclosed backyard. We have some lovely grassy areas, but, yeah, it's a city park.

10:31S1

Absolutely is. Just for anyone that's not aware, neutral Bay is in Sydney. Yeah.

10:38S2

Correct. Yeah. It's in it's it's called the lower North Shore. So it's quite near North Sydney.
Yeah. So yeah.

10:46S1

So just for anyone who is kind of, um, I guess probably not aware, that is a kind of reasonably new area. So I think at the moment you're probably one of the first of our Sydney based puppy carers, which is pretty cool. It's cool to be part of the state or something.

11:02S2

Yeah, I think I am the first Sydney puppy carer.

11:07S1

Woohoo! Yeah!

11:08S2

Yay me! Now we need lots more. Yeah.

11:12S1

And yeah. And now the rest of you should...

11:16S2

Yes, please....

11:18S1

So how the....

11:19S2

Company.

11:20S1

And so you are in a kind of reasonably busy area, I guess, out and about and then so, you know, you kind of come back. What is it like for a young puppy living in an apartment?

11:30S2

Well, I believe that Kirrup really enjoys living in the department. It is his home life. That's his. The way he's been raised. Yeah. We do, because we, I'm out and about a lot. He spends a lot of time out, not just training his outside. On a long lead, having having lovely sniffs and going around our property, um, saying, greeting everybody that he passes. So, you know, he's always, I've always had to toilet downstairs, you know, go downstairs for the toilet. And I think it's really been beneficial for him in a lot of ways, you know, through the lifts, down the stairs. He's used to basements. He's used to doors closing loudly. He's used to running into different people all the time.

12:22S1

Yeah.

12:23S2

I think it's been really beneficial for him. In a lot of ways.

12:30S1

Yeah, yeah. I've had a lot of people say that that that, you know, I couldn't raise my I live in an apartment, and, I mean, I haven't lived in an apartment and I've, but I know that that was always an option that we that we had. And it always felt to me, especially because you do go out and about, you just kind of adapt in a different way. It's the same living in a house, but it's just not one.

12:50S2

Absolutely, absolutely. And, you know, he's, I think he's a very happy puppy, very well balanced, and really enjoys his life. So I really it's beneficial, I think, because a lot of people live in apartments.

13:05S1

Yeah.

13:06S2

Vision or a blind, they're not just going to live in houses. There's all different housing and ups in apartment pop and a city park.

13:15S1

Yeah, and he'll be ready for that. Gigging, living in apartments. We've we've worked it out. We've worked at his clients. So you know, for any, any clients who are ready in about a year in a little bit probably for carrot. There you go. There. We've got you ready.

13:31S2

And can I give you the the icing on the cake?

13:33S1

Oh yes.

13:34S2

The icing on the cake is that Kirrip has two cats.

13:39S1

He has them. He owns cats.

13:41S2

He has two cats, Pandora and Apollo. So he is a cat puppy.

13:48S1

I think. I think those names are excellent. They're very, like a proper and interesting.

13:55S2

That's right. They are. They're very interesting. And they're 12 years old. So they've both adapted really well to having a puppy.

14:02S1

And how did he go in in the introductions, bringing an eight week old puppy into a house with a cat or an apartment with two cats?

14:10S2

He did extremely well. He he's always been quite respectful of them. At first he thought he didn't know what they were. Yeah. And he wondered, you know, and he would look, and and try and sniff and not always particularly running after them or anything. He's always been quite respectful of the felines. So but, my idea would be, was that I would keep them really quite separate, for as long as I could until they became bored. And that worked.

14:43S1

I think. I I've done that before when I, when I got a cat, which is actually a fair few years into my kind of puppy foster breeder caring journey, and I thought, oh, well, set up a bunch of baby gates and give, um, give them the chance to really be a part. And I think it took about two days and I had Iris on the tether for a bit, and then the cat kind of kept coming up to her. I was like, oh, I don't think the cat's really all that bothered. To be fair, I think, yeah.

15:05S2

That's it. And, you know, I just was I was making sure that there was no scratching or any, anything violent.

15:12S1

Yeah.

15:13S2

Like, you know, the curiosity just overcomes everything, Harriet.

15:18S1

Yeah. 

S2

I mean, they do they they they do say that, you know, there's that whole kind of cat and dog, you know, it's like cat and mouse, but, you know that cats and dogs can't be friends, and it just feels like it's really not true. It's not.

15:31S1

True. Yeah.

15:32S2

And I think that it's really important to know that, you know, your our pets, it doesn't matter if they're old or even are extremely adaptable. Yeah, they will work it out. And I think that's really important because a lot of people say they don't want to be carers or they'd love to be carers, but because of their other pet.

15:56S1

Yeah. And it's it's it's, yeah, it's very easy to kind of think of particular barriers that sometimes aren't really aren't really barriers. So what have you liked the most about caring so far?

16:10S2

Well, I absolutely love animals. And, you know, I grew up with animals around me, so it's really fantastic to have to have a puppy. So that's been that's always, like, amazing for me. As many animals as possible is through,for, you know, caring day to day. You really it really gets you up and out of the house, and it's such a healthy lifestyle. And...

16:40S1

Yeah.

16:41S2

Major, major bonus for people who want to be up and about more. You know, that is a fantastic reason to have to be caring for a puppy. And I love the community. You know, I have a whole new community, within with all the puppy carers. And that's been an amazing thing, and I enjoy that very much. So it's really endless. The list.

17:08S1

How how did you find out about caring?

17:12S2

Well, one of my friends said to me, wow, you would be a fantastic puppy carer. And I initially saw, you know, saw the guide dogs. They don't allow puppies in apartments. Or at least that's what it says.

17:27S1

Yeah.

17:27S2

And apparently some are, but that's what it said. So there I saw went to to Seeing Eye Dogs, and they took me on.

17:37S1

Yeah.

17:38S2

It was actually somebody else's suggestion that's that that made me think, Oh, wow. Of course that would be great.

17:45S1

Oh, yeah. I hadn't thought about it. It's it's quite niche, I think if you haven't, if you haven't happened to have stumbled upon it, I guess right. To some degree it's a suggestion. So yeah.

17:56S2

That all the time.

17:59S1

Yeah. So, obviously there are all sorts of kind of, yeah, there's challenges along the way that you'll encounter. What have you found challenging?

18:08S2

Well, when Kirrip was very young, eight weeks. It was a lot of toileting, you know, because as you know very well, it's, you know, once an hour, uh, if you're lucky. So going up and down, that that is a lot of work. But I will say, you know, there's different ways that you can have you. Sorry. Can we edit that?

18:33S1

Yeah.

18:34S2

So basically, you might have a if you live in an apartment, you might have a slightly older puppy, you know, 15 or 16 weeks. If you don't feel that you can manage an eight week old. So that's that's definitely been a challenge. Just that a lot of toileting, which is eased off a great deal now, um, seven months and really can hold for a long time. We still go down every couple of hours. But I think it's good.

19:03S1

That's as good for you as a leg stretch, really, isn't it?

19:07S2

Exactly. And he could. I know he can hold for a long time. I don't test that just yet. So that that was definitely a challenge. Yeah. So we've we've worked out that the all of the toileting. I think having a puppy like anyone who has a puppy, it's not necessarily a seeing our dog puppy. It's it's a lot of work and, um, there's a lot of responsibility. So that's, you have to ease into that, yeah. But that they're probably the main challenges.

19:38S1

So do you have any kind of favorite, I guess proud moments or funny stories that you would like to share first is always one that springs to mind at least.

19:47S2

I mean, he's so cute. He really loves transport. He loves transport. He loves getting in the car. It's almost always to go somewhere fantastic. So he loves it. And, we were doing some training on the bus, and after that training, we were walking by and a bus stopped, and he went straight to hop on.

20:06S1

Like Yay! Another one! Yay!

20:09S2

So I actually, you know, turned him around, and we're not going on that bus Kirrip. But, and I think, going also completely different at choir when we go to choir. He's a very, very good boy. And everybody loves him there. And generally he's quiet, but he has this uncanny ability to bark in time with the music. Like, it'll just [indistinct] him and he'll bark like, as the songs finishing, he will bark. And it's very tightly and that's hilarious. And everyone thinks that's very hilarious.

20:44S1

It's kind of joining in.

20:46S2

Yeah, but in time.

20:48S1

You know, it's it's uncanny.

20:50S2

I think he gets the feel of the song and he, you know, goes with the flow. But it's pretty funny. And in general, I'm proud of him because he's a very good boy. He really tries his best day to day. So yeah. Proud, proud puppy carer here.

21:07S3

Oh, lovely.

21:08S1

So just to kind of finish off, do you have any messages for anyone who would be kind of considering puppy caring or for members of the public, things that you'd like them to know?

21:22S2

Well. You know, I actually we've touched on this. I talked to many people who say they'd love to become puppy carers if only they didn't have, you know, dog, cat, bird, you know, and I'd like people to know that, that the animals are adaptable. And they will adapt, and to, you know, not let that hold you back, especially if you have the, you know, if you think that you would be a puppy care, a good puppy carer, and could do a good job and I know many people would. So and for members of the, the public a similar thing really. You know, I've lived here for 20 years and I've never seen another dog in training.

22:03S1

Oh, really?

22:04S2

And that's pretty, pretty incredible, don't you think? Like quite amazing. I've never seen a working dog here or a dog in training. And, you know, this is a big area. And, you know, I'd really love to see more more in the area. It would be just wonderful, you know, to go out and there's another dog in training. Another puppy in training. And that would be. That would be. That's my wish.

22:32S1

Oh, well, I think we can try our best to make that happen. So anyone who's listening from, uh, kind of neutral Bay, northern Sydney area, please spread the word or apply. Find out about puppy caring.

22:44S3

Yes. Well thank you.

22:45S1

Thank you so much, Angelica. And also Kirrip who's kind of there but not saying too much because you know, of napping up for coming on and joining me on the show. It's been really great to chat and um, yeah, much appreciate all your hard work, proper caring.

22:58S2

Thank you for having me. Thank you, Harriet.

23:06S1

I hope you enjoyed my interview with Angelica and Kirrip. People aren't often aware that you can raise a puppy in an apartment, but as Angelica explains, you can have a happy and healthy single dog's puppy in an apartment. So you've been thinking that that was a barrier. Time to rethink and sign up. We are also open for volunteers in parts of northern Sydney, including Hornsby Shire and City of Parramatta councils, and in the New South Wales Central Coast Region two. So if you and or family and friends are interested in raising a puppy for 6 or 12 months and are based in those areas, you can head to our website at Sydney, Australia. Org for more information or to find out when you can attend our next information session. 

It's almost Valentine's Day, which means that we're going to be having a perfect match day. Talking about how puppy carers raise puppies who can help become the perfect partner to a handler who is blind or has low vision as a seeing eye dog. Carers like Angelica raise puppies in their homes and give the essential skills to help them become confident and happy. Working seeing eye dogs check out our socials such as Facebook for events including a live stream behind the scenes of our very own puppy centre at Seeing Eye Dogs. Now that brings me to our last piece for this episode.

Some of you listeners may be aware that throughout this time hosting, throughout my time hosting the show, I have been a puppy carer. I've taken on some short time fosters as well as cared for dogs in the breeding program, so they actually joined me in the studio during recordings and they sleep through generally. So you don't hear them, but they are there. Iris is a yellow lab golden retriever cross who joined our Seeing Eye Dog show team in January of 2022. She's been with us for most recordings of the last two years, so she was actually accepted into the breeding colony in January of 2023. And I'm very excited to share with you that in December of 2023, she gave birth to her first litter of seeing dogs. Puppies? She had eight puppies, a mix of yellow puppies and black puppies. And they were boys, boys and girls in our litter. So they will actually go on to join carers and hopefully grow up to be seeing eye dogs. 

If you're interested in puppy caring, puppies like Iris litter are looking for loving homes. Now you don't need experience or qualifications as you're given lots and lots of training and support by lovely, uh, experienced staff such as some of the pets that we have had on this show, as well as costs like food, equipment, and medical care are all covered by seeing eye dogs. Even if you need to go away on a holiday, we can organise either kennel stays or foster care homes for the puppies. So if you are someone that does the occasional bit of travelling, you don't have to worry about paying for boarding or leaving with family and friends. We've got lots of trusted carers that can help out fill that gap, so it's a really amazing way to have a dog without some of the responsibilities and barriers, as well as giving back to someone who needs it. I think it's a pretty cool way to give back, and that's why I've been doing it myself for coming up to probably seven years now. We are open for carers and select areas of Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria that are listed on our website. 

We'd really appreciate you spreading the word to people that would be keen or signing up yourself if you're interested in helping out, thank you for listening to the Seeing Eye Dogs Show on Vision Australia Radio. I hope you enjoyed this episode including our exciting bit of news. We will have some photos of some of these puppies, including Iris's litter, others that will be scattered on our social media feed. So don't forget to check those out and tune in. Same time next week for another episode of The Seeing Eye Dogs Show. Or you can head to that website for more news and information about seeing dogs.