Puppy raisers provide important training
Sat 21 October 2006
Renae Henry, Journalism
Endless sleepless nights, rigorous training and an extra mouth to feed - it's all in a day's work for Maleny retirees Maarten and Jackie Semmelink, who raise puppies for Guide Dogs Queensland.
The self-confessed dog lovers receive the pups when they are between six and eight weeks old and have regular visits from an assigned trainer for the first month.
Jackie recalls the joy of their first meeting with the puppies, but also the sleep deprivation that follows.
"The first day you get your puppy is one of the most memorable moments as you are so anxious to meet them," she said.
"They are gorgeous little handfuls of fluff when you first get them, but it's just like having a baby, you suffer loss of sleep."
Maarten and Jackie keep the puppies for 12 months before they go on to specialised training and then ultimately are coupled with a vision-impaired person.
"The moment we get them, we start training with commands such as heel, sit, down, wait, stay and stand," Maarten said.
"We introduce them to public transport and socialise them by taking them to public places like shopping centres.
"Kenny has even been with us to the cinemas."
Maarten said puppy raisers played an important role not only in the dog's life, but also for Guide Dogs Queensland.
"It costs Guide Dogs Queensland $25,000 per dog to breed, train and place them, so puppy raisers provide an important and valuable training ground," he said.
Maarten and Jackie have proven successful as volunteer puppy raisers, with their first puppy working as a qualified guide dog to a vision-impaired person and their second puppy, a companion to a young boy with Aspergers Syndrome.
Ask the couple what they find the most difficult about being puppy raisers and they both agree on one thing.
"The hardest part is definitely giving them back, but at the same time you're happy because you know they are going on to become working dogs,"
Jackie said.
The Semmelinks had considered the idea of raising puppies for Guide Dogs Queensland for a long time. Retirement offered them the time they needed to put the plan into action.
Now the couple also work hard behind the scenes for the charity.
"Since becoming puppy raisers, we have become very aware of the many wonderful services provided by Guide Dogs Queensland, so have broadened our involvement into various fund-raising activities," Jackie said.
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Submitted Comments
Hi,
I don't know if it's possible to get a message to Jackie and Maarten, but if it is could you please say "hello" from the old English buddy. My email address is paul.bredo@bas.uk.com. It would be great to get back in contact with them if it was at all possible. I'd really appreciate it if you could do this for me. Thankyou!
Paul Bredo