00:10S1
On Vision Australia Radio. You're listening to the Seeing Eye Dogs Show with me, your host, Harriet Moffat. Today I've got two guests for you. The first is seeing eye dog handler Lily Alford talking about her partnership, her story, and her life with seeing eye dog Prince. And then I've got some repeat of vet tips from Doctor Jacinta Millard, from the Seeing Eye Dogs vet team talking about arthritis. Here is my first interview with Lily, talking about her life with single dog Prince. Hi, Lily. Thank you for joining me on the show today.
On Vision Australia Radio. You're listening to the singer dog show with me, your host, Harriet Moffatt. Today I've got two guests for you. The first is seeing eye dog handler Lily Alford talking about her partnership, her story, and her life with seeing Eye dog Prince. And then I've got some repeat of vet tips from Doctor Jacinta Millard, from the Seeing Eye Dogs vet team talking about arthritis. Here is my first interview with Lily, talking about her life with single dog Prince. Hi, Lily. Thank you for joining me on the show today.
Hello. So, can you just start off by introducing yourself please?
00:57S2
Yes, sir. Um, my name is Lily. I'm 23 and I live in Geelong.
01:04S1
So could you please introduce your seeing eye dog?
01:07S2
Yes. My dog's name is Prince. And we're coming up on three years of working together.
01:13S1
So that would have been kind of 2021 that you were kind of matched and trained together.
01:20S2
Yeah, yeah.
01:21S1
Oh, that feels like it's kind of coming up then. Really like, that's, uh, that's a pretty, pretty fair, fair partnership. It feels like only yesterday that I saw Prince in the puppy Center. Honestly.
01:31S2
Oh, yeah. He's growing so big.
01:35S1
How long have you been a single dog handler in general? And was he your first dog?
01:40S2
Yeah. So, Prince is my first guide dog, so I'm very baby into the guide dog handler world.
01:48S1
It's a bit of a transition, isn't it? It's not quite, just, like, kind of picking up a dog from, you know, from a pet dog and then just saying, okay, I'm going to bring it everywhere. Is it?
01:59S2
No, no. Definitely not. You have to learn to use it like a car.
02:04S1
What made you decide to apply for a seeing eye dog?
02:08S2
So I've been legally blind since I was born. I became a cane user when I was a teenager. And then when I moved out of home and I started being, like, more independent in the community, I kind of realised that having a guide dog would kind of allow me to be more flexible with that. I loved my cane and I decorated it, and I really did embrace cane like I loved it. But for me, having a guide dog, it's really like upped the level of like freedom that I do have. And I'm able to grow just a lot more places, a lot quicker, smoother. It's just it's kind of good, like people say cane and they're kind of like, oh, I don't know, like if you're some people don't know what that is, but when they see the dog, they automatically get out of the way.
02:56S1
And I suppose Prince kind of does his own part in, um, in getting people out of the way or getting out of the way, too, whereas the cane kind of is a little bit more like bashing into things and then hoping for the best...
03:07S2
It is, yes, you have to hit the people with the cane.
03:12S1
And hoping that they understand. Then at that point what it is...
03:15S2
Yes, yes. Fingers crossed.
03:18S1
What were you diagnosed with and what were some of the or, I guess, like how did you kind of realise that you had low vision?
03:26S2
So I was premature. So I have retinopathy of prematurity. Honestly, growing up, my mum made the decision not to tell me that I had a vision impairment. I kind of just assumed that that was how everyone saw. I had early interventions and things like that, but for me, it made me a lot more independent because I'd ride a bike and I couldn't see further than six metres. I was riding a bike and like things like that. So I knew when I was maybe 10 or 11, and then from there, I lost more sight and then more again. And now I can see I'm completely blind in my right eye and my left eye. I can see maybe like. 15 20cm. It's hand movement. I think that's what they call it.
04:19S1
If you're looking at Prince, you could maybe look a little bit into his face, but that's about it
04:25S2
Yeah, exactly. You big old yellow blob. Yeah.
04:28S1
So how would you say that your life has changed since being partnered with prints?
04:33S2
So having Prince, it kind of gave me more than just mobility. So he kind of gives me purpose. And I've found people like being a guide dog handler. There are there's a group of us and it kind of it just feels nice to kind of have that like sense of community. And prints really brought me out of my shell, like a lot. And he's allowed me to be more confident. And I just, I really don't think I would be as independent as I am or confident in myself without having him there.
05:06S1
It would have been a pretty interesting time of your life to have got him to, because you would have been, what, 20? Yeah, because.
05:12S2
Yeah, because we, it kind of feels like we grew up a little bit. Not not together, of course, because he's not that old. But we kind of have gone through lots of life stages now, like from we used to work together, then becoming sick. And now that my condition is a lot more managed, now we're getting back into the world again. So, we're going to uni this year, so it's it's massive.
05:38S1
How exciting. What are you going to study at uni?
05:41S2
Speech pathology. Yes. I found out that I got in just before our call, actually.
05:47S1
Oh how exciting. Congratulations.
05:50S2
Yes. Thank you. It should be awesome.
05:52S1
Is that so? You know, you might find a job one day working at Vision Australia doing speech pathology.
05:58S2
Yeah, I'd love it, like, I don't I don't want to do typical speech therapy, like, in hospitals and things like that. So more allied health out in the community so that it would be, it would be awesome to do something to do with Vision Australia too. That would be perfect.
06:13S1
So, so the way that you've changed, the way that you work together has changed a bit since your graduation. I think you kind of mentioned that there was some kind of, I guess, health changes. Could you, um, or would you be happy to share some of the story of how that you adapted to that different style of work?
06:31S2
Yeah. Of course. So in 2021, Prince and I graduated and we were walking team. So we completed like training up in Kensington Cedar for 2 to 3 weeks. And then, about 6 to 12 months later in 2022, I lost the ability to walk. So we became a wheelchair guide dog team. Um, so Prince got retrained for a couple weeks up in Kensington. And all of that was funded really generously by donations. So the trainers had to learn to become powerchair wheelchair users, basically, and then adapt Prince's commands for guiding me in the wheelchair. Um, so, like the biggest difference between walk and chair guiding is like the targets and and being spatially aware. So like Prince targets the down curbs and the lifts, ramps avoids obstacles, all that kind of thing, which is like super common in walk guiding.
But the difference is that Prince and I and the chair were a wide load. So he needs to make sure that, like, there's enough room for me, him and the chair. So especially through like tight spaces and doors and buses and bathrooms, it's it's totally different to when we were walking. Um, so yeah, the training was really paramount in us being able to, like, continue to be a team because he wouldn't have been able to just he used to sit beside my chair and stuff before he got trained, but he wouldn't understand how to guide the wheelchair.
08:09S1
And does it feel kind of quite different as, as a user, kind of down the handle with almost the angle and stuff too, or not really?
08:16S2
It does. So a lot of, who I've spoken to, we have. So on either side of your wheelchair, you have an armrest. And a lot of people, the armrest is straight and it can be quite, like tension on your wrist because you hold the harness is extra long. It's like double the size of an everyday one. We look like a bit of a train. So, when you're walking, Prince would sit, stand at your knee. But when you're gliding in a wheelchair, Prince stands at the foot, basically. So he's a bit in front, so it can be a bit different to be, you have to be more in tune with the handle because he moves. But yeah, it just it feels very different because you're sitting instead of standing. So it's a bit different on the way that the harness will pull on your like, wrist.
09:13S1
So once he got that training, did you have additional training yourself or together as a team on how to how to kind of, I guess, yeah, navigate this new style of work?
09:25S2
We did. Yes. And we continue to do so. With the wheelchair program being so like kind of new, I suppose. Um, we do a lot of training. So to begin with, we did every route that we wanted to do, we'd have to get, um, a trainer to come and approve it and make sure it was all wheelchair accessible and all of that Prince and I, now, we still do get approval. Like for uni yesterday we went to uni with our trainer from Cedar and did things like that. And we'll continue to do that, but eventually it will get to a point where I guess we'll kind of be able to be a little bit more lax, not have to practice particular routes if they're on the same area that you've already done before and you know it's wheelchair friendly. So it's just it's a little bit different because when you were walking, you could kind of just go anywhere with your dog. But when you're a wheelchair guide, you kind of have to get a little bit of assistance to make sure that where you are taking your dog, it is safe for both you and the chair and the dog because you you don't want them to accidentally get hurt.
10:31S1
I kind of thinking about, like you said, the kind of how wide the kind of you, him and the chair are together. It would be quite. Yeah. It's kind of almost like two separate accessibility challenges, like the dog and the wheelchair. And then kind of both together is almost like an extra.
10:49S2
It is. Yes. And you find a lot of access challenges. So a lot of things are either they will be wheelchair friendly but not. Powerchair friendly, so they'll be quite small. You could fit a manual chair by a big power chair, plus the dog. You can't. And like things like that. A lot of the times Prince has to learn how to go into very small spaces, and Prince is a shocker for very small spaces. So for him that was a huge learning curve. Having to be like either against or like not touching a wall but very close to one. Or when we go through doors he has to like go in front or behind. So it's it's really different for him when he doesn't particularly like being squished or under things. And now he has to.
11:39S1
Yeah. Sorry buddy.
11:42S2
He takes it like a champ.
11:43S1
Yeah. And and you know, I guess you already have that bond, which probably made it to some degree a very interesting difference to then. Yeah. Having done it from the start as well.
11:54S2
Oh yeah. 100%.
11:56S1
So what are your favorite things about Prince and do you kind of have any thoughts on why you might have been matched?
12:03S2
He is super sensitive and cheeky. I would not have it like absolutely any other way. He is a very kind and he is a very resilient dog like. I imagine it would be really hard for a working dog to have like the interruptions that Prince had. So like with work limitations, there was times where we we wouldn't work for months on end. For a little bit there, while I was incredibly unwell, he'd still walk and things like that, but we weren't actively going out every day.
12:34S1
And not using his kind of brain in the same challenging way, you know.
12:37S2
So we definitely practice and go on small ones when I could tolerate it. But there was, yeah, a period there where he couldn't work. And then um, when he did retraining. So like, he's just a really amazing dog. He took it all on the chin and he's crushing it. Like, you can't tell that we had that that two months off like you. You absolutely can't tell he loves his job. He's so excited. He gets very upset if I leave and he's not coming with me.
13:05S1
So he'll be very excited to come on your new uni adventure, I reckon.
13:10S2
Oh yeah. He's going to love it. Love the people. Yeah.
13:15S1
So what is the kind of typical day in the life of you and Prince?
13:19S2
At the moment? No two days are really the same for us, Prince and I, at the moment, we do a lot of social outings, like appointments, friends and family's house, library, gym, pool. The pool is a very big one. Footprints. He hates the water, but he does it for me because he loves me. There's just, yeah, we kind of just are. We go out every single day. But at the moment we don't have set things that we do. Obviously now that we're starting uni, that will change and we'll have more of a routine, which is awesome. What we've been aiming for.
13:59S1
I think, yeah, it's kind of like you need a break. It's kind of like the calm before the storm. Well, hopefully not storm, but you know, before the big changes, hectic ness that is kind of going on campus and all of that type of stuff.
14:13S2
Oh yes, he'll be excited now, but he'll start doing it and he'll want to go home.
14:18S1
He'd be like, oh, why don't we just stay in bed? You know, like he's sleeping all day.
14:22S2
Yeah.
14:24S1
What are there any kind of particular best outings that you've done together that you would like to share?
14:29S2
Prince and I recently did the run for Geelong. Obviously we will. We did, but we've been to heaps of places, festivals. We went to my best friend's birth in the hospital, which was absolutely crazy. Honestly, like the best outings for us. Besides obviously the day to day probably have been him. Like allowing me to get back out into like nature. We've been going to a lot of the national parks up in Clark and the. We've been to the Murray River. So yeah, if he just allows me to kind of explore it all a little better and more safe than a cane would.
15:06S1
Not that we don't love the personalised decorated cane.
15:10S2
No, not that we don't. We we we love her. We still use her. She's just. She's second.
15:17S1
Second. Yeah. As as she should be, you know, and print. You know, print. Print has the feelings to know that he wants to be first.
15:25S2
Definitely.
15:26S1
So I did have kind of in my list of questions about, you know, if you had any kind of plans for the future or trips you'd like to do. Sounds like you've got a pretty busy, uh, busy year ahead of you.
15:36S2
I do, yes, besides uni, eventually, if if my health permits. Touchwood. We would like to go to New Zealand with friends. You know my sister? Yeah. My sister lives there. I have never taken him on a plane or even interstate, let alone overseas. So it'll be a lot of planning. But I think it would be a really good adventure for us. Obviously we'd need to talk to seeing our dogs and all of that because I'm not sure if it's, don't want to say not possible because I'm not sure with the wheelchair program, but I'm sure we will make it possible somehow.
16:21S1
We'll get it. Get it done. A bit of a team effort in in those things.
16:26S2
I think so, yes.
16:28S1
Do you have any kind of specific funny memories or stories that you'd like to share?
16:33S2
So when Prince and I first became a pair, we were in the CBD, like in Geelong, and Prince had sneakily picked up an ice cream cone off the floor, and he was holding it in his mouth as he guided me. And then when we stopped at the lights, I could hear him crunching and I looked down and he's got ice cream all over his lips, all down his chest, on his legs. So he must have been holding it for a really long time, waiting for us to stop somewhere so he could eat it.
17:02S1
Oh, dear. Cheeky. But funny.
17:08S2
They do silly things like that.
17:11S1
Yeah, and that's when you kind of remember that their dogs are not robots, which is kind of part of the appeal to some degree, I'm sure.
17:18S2
Oh yeah. For sure. Like I think yeah, people need to kind of remember that, you know, they are dogs and sometimes they do have off days or make silly decisions like chasing the magpies in the front yard.
17:33S1
When they're when they're off duty. You know, a little bit of bird play is kind of the it's kind of a thing that they do sometimes. It is.
17:41S2
It definitely is dog behaviour typical.
17:44S1
Yeah. It is quite funny to think kind of think of the fact that, yeah, out of harness sometimes they really are just like dogs. They're really silly.
17:51S2
Oh yeah. You wouldn't think Prince is a guide dog with his harness off. I don't reckon.
17:57S1
So. Other than that, is there anything that you wish that the general public knew about seeing?
18:02S2
I think probably just like a soft reminder that, you know, they are dogs, but to us they are a lot more than that. If someone asks you not to distract or talk or feed their dog like, especially when they're working, even if they don't look like they're working to you just don't do it.
I think probably just like a soft reminder that, you know, they are dogs, but to us they are a lot more than that. If someone asks you not to distract or talk or feed their dog like, especially when they're working, even if they don't look like they're working to you just don't do it.
18:21S1
Yeah, and that's including kind of the looking and the cooing and the chatting and the feeding. It's...
18:26S2
Yes. Yes. Do not. Yeah. Don't look at the dog and make noises.
18:31S1
Yeah. And some. Yes. The even the test even as a is a weird testing thing testing them thinks uh it's nice to let them keep, keep going doing what they're doing.
18:42S2
It is. Yes. Yep. Leave them alone.
18:46S1
Just, just kind of... if you are curious about the dogs in general, go and check out, you know, the Seeing Eye Dogs website, read all about it and then continue on your day.
18:55S3
Yes.
18:57S1
So just to kind of finish up, are there any messages that you would like to share with um donors, volunteers or supporters of seeing eye dogs?
19:05S2
Honestly, probably just thank you like you have. No idea how much I know me talking personally, how much you've helped me and Prince. So, like, without the donors and the volunteers. It would have been like a very different story for Prince and his working life. So we owe everything that we have achieved and will continue to because of them. It just it wouldn't be possible without their support of, you know, seeing eye dogs and Vision Australia. I just wouldn't be enough funding there to go around. So things like this have really opened up. Seeing eye dogs and guide dogs for, you know, people with other disabilities because it it really wasn't. A big thing before. There hasn't been a lot of wheelchairs and guide dogs or, you know, people with mobility issues and guide dogs. So it has been really good, and I very much appreciate it. And thank you very much.
20:06S1
Well, thank you so much for coming on the show today and, uh, sharing your story and chatting about privacy.
20:11S2
So thank you very much for having me.
20:18S1
You've been listening to the Seeing Eye Dogs Show on Vision Australia Radio. I hope you enjoyed my interview with Lily. And now here's an interview from the archives with Doctor Jacinta Millard, from seeing Idexx vet team talking about arthritis in dogs. Hi, Jacinta, thank you for joining me on the show today.
You've been listening to the Seeing Eye Dog show on Vision Australia Radio. I hope you enjoyed my interview with Lily. And now here's an interview from the archives with Doctor Jacinta Millard, from Seeing Eye Dogs vet team talking about arthritis in dogs. Hi, Jacinta, thank you for joining me on the show today.
20:36S4
Thank you for having me, Harriet.
20:38S1
So I just start off talking a bit about arthritis in dogs and kind of how to manage it and what that looks like. So just to start off with what is arthritis in dogs?
20:48S4
Okay, so arthritis in dogs is pretty similar to arthritis in humans. It's degenerative joint disease where um, the joint itself, any joint in the dog I guess wears away at the cartilage on the edges. And we get some bone deposition and bone growth, which can increase the pain in the joint, um, slowing them down and making them uncomfortable.
21:08S1
So as far as kind of symptoms or what that looks like, what are the symptoms of a dog having arthritis?
21:14S4
Yeah. So commonly people will come in and say that their dogs are slowing down. They notice that they're a bit slower on their walks, or they're reluctant to walk or reluctant to run and do activities that they've normally done. Quite frequently. They might play less, they might be just slowing down in general. A lot of the time we noticed that dogs with arthritis will be slow getting up from their bed and slow getting down again when they're laying down. And yeah, generally just a slowing, a slowing down of activity and that sort of thing.
21:43S1
So I think a lot of the time we kind of, um, what's the word kind of relate arthritis to kind of age is, is arthritis only in older dogs?
21:53S4
No. We can get arthritis in young dogs as well. Any disruption to the joint? Say they've had surgery in the joint or anything like that can increase the chance of arthritis forming in that joint. Um, because it's altering the mechanics of how force is being applied through the joint. And that alters the structure of the joint. Yeah, so it's not just old dogs, though it's more commonly seen in older dogs.
22:14S1
Is arthritis progressive? And is there anything that can be done to avoid it becoming worse?
22:19S4
Yeah. So arthritis is progressive. We have multiple treatments available at the moment which slow the progression, but nothing actually can stop the progression of arthritis similar to that in humans. Um, so there's a few things we have up our sleeves, a lot of nutraceuticals and things that we can add to their food. So it's not necessarily a drug, but it's like a supplement that we add into their diet, something like fish oil with omega three and omega six. It has a lot of, um, anti-inflammatory properties on the joint. So it can reduce the inflammation which is causing the pain associated with the arthritis. We also have ingredients that we can put in as supplements that increase joint fluid production and protect the cartilage that still existing in the joint.
23:03S1
So are there any other factors that would make the symptoms worse? For a dog, even things like say, kind of weather, other conditions and like, say, the types of exercise that you do.
23:12S4
Absolutely. So more, I guess intense exercise, lots of stopping and starting things like that. That's putting a lot more pressure on the joints or running on, particularly on flat surfaces like concrete, is putting much more force through the joints than, say, slower, gentle walking or hydrotherapy where you're not putting as much force through the joints at all so they can generally exacerbate it. Cold weather also will exacerbate the signs of arthritis, which is similar to humans. The barometric pressure changes with the cold weather, and that changes, um, I guess the pressure on the joints, which means they can expand a bit more, and then as they expand a bit more, they can become sore. So we see worsening signs in often in winter. And I guess in terms of avoiding it becoming worse, we're avoiding things that might, you know, increase it, playing up. So we're avoiding activities where it might be exacerbated. So, like, we avoid rough play, we avoid intense exercise off the lead and things like that.
24:14S1
What about things like weight?
24:15S4
Yes. So weight is a very big one. So I probably should. Body conditioning probably should have started with that. So essentially what we want to do to, I guess reduce the signs of or the clinical signs associated is we want to reduce the force being constantly put through the joint. So by reducing the weight that the animal is carrying, we're reducing extra loading on the joint, which slows down the progression of arthritis and will reduce the pain associated with putting loading through that joint. Um, so keeping dogs in a good body condition, at an appropriate weight, not overweight and obviously not too skinny, is a really big factor in ensuring that the progression is slowed and that it's manageable.
24:56S1
So if you've already noticed those symptoms, what are the types of things that a vet may do to assist management of the symptoms?
25:03S4
Yeah. So that might prescribe a particular type of diet or something that is, can be added to the food. As I was saying before, that helps with protecting the existing cartilage, reducing the inflammation in the joint. And just weight loss and weight loss maintenance. There also might look at there's different types of injections we can give. One is called often which is an injection that we usually give off as a course of four injections over four weeks. So once a week initially. And then we continue on once every 1 to 3 months for maintenance. This injection has a lot of ingredients that, one, increase the joint fluid production in the joint. So increasing the lubrication in the joint and then to also increases the protection of the cartilage that still existing in the joint. So that can be added in from a really early age. And it's been found to be quite beneficial because it does slow the progression of arthritis to some extent.
A new one that's just come out that we can also add in is an injection called Brando, which is similar to that used in humans. So it's a monoclonal antibody that blocks the neuropathic pain pathway. So this one doesn't necessarily slow the progression of arthritis like the Patterson will, but it will stop the animal from recognising the pain associated with it. So it has had really good reports in terms of bringing return to comfort in a lot of animals. However, it's usually added in at the very sort of end of stages because it's not actually going to slow the progression of the arthritis, it's just going to help with managing the pain. Um, other things we also add in are sort of either some medications that we can give daily. So something like, something similar to a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory, it can be used. Obviously these need to be weighed up with cost versus risk type benefit thing. So we're looking at whether it's worth using it every day at that stage.
But because obviously all these medications can have some side effects as well. But these medications are generally targeted at the pain, not at like slowing the progression of the arthritis. And then things like referring onto hydrotherapy and physiotherapy type clinics as well, which sort of look at keeping the dog active without putting too much force through the joints.
27:26S1
So I guess the kind of the main thing really will be then going to your vet and working out what approach works best for you and your dog.
27:34S4
Absolutely. Because it will always be a multimodal approach. They'll never be just one way that we target it. And we'll be looking at probably a combination of things and what your dog tolerates best and what works best for you and that sort of thing as well.
27:53S1
We've been listening to the Seeing Eye Dogs Show on Vision Australia Radio. I hope you enjoyed my interviews with Lily Alford, async handler talking about her life with Prince and with Doctor Jacinta Millard from Seeing Eye Dogs vet team talking about arthritis. If you'd like to find out more about seeing Eye dogs, the work we do, or how you can help, head to our website at SED Vision Australia-dot-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.
