what's more you can take them to

work.

For the first time, Seeing Eye Dogs

Australia is looking for puppy carers

in Warrnambool.

In little more than a month the

charity hopes to dispatch 15

puppies to the city.

Successful carers will spend 12

months training the dogs before

they become a lifelong companion

to those who are blind.

Group general manager Leigh

Garwood described training a See

ing Eye dog as having all the perks

of pet ownership, without having to

foot the bill.

"All expenses - food, vet care,

equipment - are covered,'' he said.

"All we want is a well socialised,

obedient dog.''

Guide Dogs Australia has used

south-west puppy carers for years.

But recently the number of volun

teer trainers has dropped to just

one - Bushfield's Terry Clift.

Mr Clift and his wife have cared

for 11 puppies. Their latest, Tarjyn,

is almost ready to begin work help

ing a blind companion.

Mr Garwood said puppy carers

were granted the same access

rights as people with Guide dogs. He

said people could take the animals

to work and even restaurants.

``In some ways it's less of a tie

than owning a normal dog because

you can take them almost any

where,'' he said.

"We have had people even take them on holidays with them on a plane."

The charity chose Warrnambool as its latest training venue after more and more locals asked to become carers, Mr Garwood said.

But Mr Garwood said the charity needed city residents' support for the program to be a success.

"We can't just have one or two dogs trained down here because we need to create a support network," he said.

"The carers aren't just left by themselves. We have a training instructor and a peer support program.

"These dogs are very valuable to us so we want to make sure they are looked after."

Mr Garwood said every 65 minutes an Australian was diagnosed with vision loss.

He said the number of blind people was expected to balloon to 600,000 in coming years, almost double the current figure.

People interested in becoming a Seeing Eye dog carer should contact Vision Australia's Warrnambool office on 5560 2308 or 1300 84 74 66.