 For this project, I was matched up with a guide dog Victoria client called Rory Douglas and I met with him a couple of times before I started my work and I found just meeting him really, really inspiring and over time that I spent with him I was able to observe how he lived worked with his guide dog Gideon and and The positive impact that Gideon had on his life When you talk to someone Who's got who's got a dog bat, you know, they bond with so much and it's not just the day-to-day It's it opens doors for them, you know Too a lot of things they either couldn't do before I've never been able to do before and so Caroline just you know went on and on about how much freedom it had given her and So I guess that's sort of where what inspired my artwork is it's sort of built of two patterns one that incorporates that sort of technical know-how of the dog sort of making in their way through the world and then The other pattern incorporates sort of what that meant for Kaylee and Carolina We came together and we were told that we were going to do something like this So quite excited, but no one knew what we were going to do for the dog So then we came up with all of these ideas We had splattering we had the landscape which we're doing now we had wings Some of them we had to cut down a little bit because they weren't very realistic. We chose to paint landscapes on our dog and We thought Being blind it doesn't really Hinder you you can still do everything that a person with type could do You can go anywhere and I guess that's where the idea of landscapes came from you can go anywhere do anything I'm an artist that looks at ruptures in the suburban drain. I Thought this idea would be perfect welcome to guide dog because for me They're a really nostalgic and iconic image that's always been there since I was a very young Kid and I kind of left the nose all kind of like dirty still because I kind of imagine that so it's built up of hundreds of kids Slopper and stuff for you know plus the guide dog You know kind of gives people access to the suburbs and there's references to roads and images of suburbia Throughout what I've done Well with our artwork We've based it off a previous carry parent named Peter who he has a guide dog But he still enjoys the outdoors and going hiking and he's completed one of the Oxfam walks So we kind of based it off his love for nature. So that's kind of how like all the wood chips and the leaves came in Well, I named the dog is princess. I choose it because it's a nice name and I love to name that I don't read right and then originally design Then I done the red for the backside I'm just so happy to that I done it initially I've gone with the idea of a bird and that sense of freedom that the guide dogs provide and from there I developed it further into Sort of an owl and that sense of wisdom that they're able to provide Our topic in art was freedom So all the pictures we put on there were freedom kind of like the bugs eagles which fly have wings and Some of them were birds coming out of a cage It's like a miracle for people to have a dog and to hose and walk around with because they're blind and It's like a miracle for them to have it I knew that they help people who are blind and that you're not supposed to Touch them or give them a pat when they're doing it and they can get taught really well. I Think working with like The dog it just really helped us understand like exactly what like they have to go through in the difficulties So we tried to like bring that out in the dog. So that's why we have like textures on him and Yeah, it's really helped us realize like from their point of view where how they see Melbourne especially and the rest of the world It's like some people if they Saw someone with a guy to their girl They're blind. They can't see they're like missing out on the this part of life, but It's not really true in a way because they can still get out. They can still enjoy everyday life They just can't see what's going on around them, but they can still feel it and everything Observing somebody gain or regain their independence is a wonderful thing I think it's underestimated how brave a lot of our clients are. I Always had a can do attitude Okay, it could still see then so he can just remember how I looked when I was 18 But when I lost a lot of sight I I lost the confidence to do things. There was a Period where he was losing his independence and that was really devastating. God Wait for most to come home from work. So I could go for a walk. It was pretty tough Like right now I'm pretty Dependent on my parents for most things eventually my husband said to me Why don't you get a guide dog, you know, because you're too scared to leave the house. I Need to become more Independent I know how I would have coped if guide dogs hadn't have been there to provide their orientation mobility services And then to match me up with such a cool dog And what we like to do is to try and show them how much fun they can have whilst getting a decent level of mobility I'm lucky till as a fast walker and so am I so, you know, we overtake people walking down the street And you know, she's looking for the opportunity to slide past and then you know when it presents herself We're off and around we go She's just an awesome dog. She's Almost like a person It's the biggest thing the freedom. It's like I was let out of jail. Oh, it's unbelievable that I opened up a new world There's that joy in working with a dog gives you an added incentive to get out and become more independent They can have that independence because there's gonna come a point to where my children will grow up and not want mum So that they can safely participate in activities that any sighted child would also participate in You walk with it Teagan's just become part of my part of my everyday life. She goes everywhere with me She will kind of keep coming and shaking on every sort of ten minutes Also, she'll come in give me a big lick and then run away before I can pat her, you know She's a part of me. I just hold on to the harness and I follow her moves and she follows mine It opens people up gives them dignity gives them pride in what they're able to achieve If I didn't have a dog, I wouldn't feel confident. I think I might end up somewhere and the kids will get hurt But with the dog, I trust her so much that I trust her with the kids too I wanted a dog that was going to improve my quality of life and my confidence and main dependence and she's definitely done that Well, I can't imagine being without one We tell her I'm in a GPS. The guide dogs have provided it means that I can actually go places that I haven't been before You know knowing that I've got something that tells me where I am and also a dog that can get me around the obstacles Always my little mate that's there and just she's always happy Just got to pat her or give her a treat and she'll wag a tail I wish it was that easy with everyone speed them and pat them and they'll be nice Guide dogs has taught me you can do a lot of things but some things You need help with if it wasn't for the help of God dogs I think that blind people would be doing what we did in the 1800s Just sitting in a room doing nothing, which would be really sad Four days Was the time frame return from the holiday late on the Friday night And as I understand it I was in in hospital having brain surgery The Monday afternoon So I and the boys had returned from a fantastic holiday up at the Gold Coast where we took the boys for a Great week away Universal Studios wet and wild etc. Had a great time And upon return from holiday. I was suffering with Pains in my in my left ear Following my infection I had Gained meningitis which had subsequently Caused an abscess on my brain therefore fluid on the brain and the brain had to be drained. I Woke up in hospital realized that I couldn't see anything Didn't really take too much notice of that at the time But I just heard lots of different voices Including wonderful Sally my boys, but also My family from the UK and then everything sort of unfolded from there. Yeah, so that was a challenging time just to hear it Bang, you know, you are going to be without vision for the rest of your foreseeable life I think when it first happened to Rory, I Absolutely thought it was a major disability because it's such a huge I think if you've had side it's such a huge thing to take away Well, I was introduced to Gideon in September of 2014 And on another program I was attending As it was thought by Jeanine my guide organ structure that Gideon could and she emphasized the word could At that time be a potential good fit. So Gideon Spent another 24-hour period with me Doing some obedience classes doing some walking around as residential area and being introduced to him and working with him for that short period of time just re-emphasize the fact that Working with a dog was was what was right for me. And as a result Gideon was made an offer to me Sally was here at the time and it was really emotional Sally burst into tears. I got a bit teared up But it was just Wonderful to have got to that level if that's the right description to be to be deemed ready to take on Or be Right For a guide dog and that guide dog all going to plan could be Or would be Gideon, which was just huge absolutely huge The main turning point for me Probably would have been a couple of months after where I got Gideon I was I think because he could see how much more independent He was just in those couple of months and how much his world had been opened up to him And how he was going to get back to a very normal life I mean still still things that are hard like computers are hard and there's a whole learning a whole new language But I think once you got Gideon after I'd seen him with kids for a couple of months I could absolutely see that he was going to be totally independent He's changed my life dramatically changed our lives drastically not just me the guide dog handler, but my my family's life Them knowing that I have that confidence and that Independence to be able to go out and about to be able to take the boys out to the library up to the milk bar pick them up from school You know get from A to B to C It's just tremendous and My life has changed dramatically in a relatively short period of time because of Guido's Victoria and the guide dog that I have in Gideon I think that's what I learned the most is You know you can sort of imagine how much someone was bond with an animal like that but to then talk to someone who's You know has that has that dog as part of their lives day in and day out and You know, I think that was the biggest learning experience for me Yeah This is brought more awareness to People with vision impairment and now I can kind of go. Oh, yeah that person has visual impairment So but they've still got this freedom with the guide dog When we met with our client, I think we were all just struck by how courageous and how confident she was even without her sight, I mean We don't know what it's like to live without sight It made me think, you know in order to come up with a concept that was suitable for the dog Kind of thought about the role of the dog Which was kind of like taking people around the suburbs and giving them the freedom to be kind of somewhat free And so that was kind of something that I thought about Often we see people for just what they are what disability they have but actually they've got whole personality They've got all different types of hobbies They like to do so it was really important for us to to know that When we went with Margaret, she told us all about like what happens when the guide dog like when she is like calling for the guide dog the guide dog will come to her and like sort of like sit with her to make sure she's okay Initially, I've gone with the idea of a bird in that sense of freedom that the guide dogs provide and From there I developed it further into Sort of an owl and that sense of wisdom that they're able to provide I've been an artist for a long time I've done the dog. It's cuddiful and I like doing it and it's fun to do it and I'm just so happy to do it, but I don't know Rory having lost his sight as an adult and then having to learn how to operate in the world without sight. I'm just totally an aura of his Ability to be able to do that You know, they help their owners every single day and they you know make their life a lot easier You know without the guide dogs, they you know, pretty much wouldn't be able to go out in public or do a lot of things around the house So we just learn a lot more about what the dog does and how important they really are My name is Jeremy. I'm in year one tended Friendly Intelligent I like playing games. That's my favorite thing to do. I had cataracts and I had to go to the doctor. He replaced the cataracts in my eyes with plastic ones So I can't see as well It's super hard Um for me Play handball because I can't see as well if I can't see the ball. How am I gonna hear? I am positive Funny depending on which friend one of them would probably say I'm crazy If I was somebody that went and suddenly blind then you kind of notice, but it's just slowly Grown-ins no one could tell that I have a vision impairment unless I use my cane And I get the question a lot of what can you see? It's kind of really hard to answer Because I don't know what you see They go, you know, how do you move around? But I just do it if Anything my vision is just gonna get worse. I could be about fully blind when I'm about 50 Well, I wouldn't mind being on a show called time and away. I don't know if you've heard of it my name is Tom Belchor and I am 11. I like to go for walks in the night and hunt spiders. I have retinitis pigmentosa. I don't really know what it means It's just like tunnel vision. I can mainly see just in front of me. I have a pet snake Her name is She-Lace Three words that describe me is smart good at doing braille and Good at bushwalking. The three words that best describe me is probably chilled out there. I like to Let people know who I am Somewhat shy when I first meet people. Oh, I hope people would say about me is Bubbly and happy and hopefully good singer not trying to be Vayne, is that the word Vayne? The three words that best describe me are kind, clever and daring. If I could have any three things there would probably be no problems at school and everyone understanding how my vision works, why I have white hair and light skin and not much pigment in my eyes. My eye condition is ocular albinism Oculocutaneous albinism. My eyes just jiggle My eyes they move back and forth sometimes like uncontrollably and sometimes people were like why are your eyes shaking? It's kind of creepy and I find that kind of hard because it's like I have to explain to them. This is me. This is how I am deal with it or just go away Well, if people make comments about me if they're really Annoying or upsetting then I just sort of say I Sort of say please don't do that again or anything I wear a hat in the classroom to block the glare from the lights Something I wouldn't want to invent that would make my life easier would probably be a braille phone I'd invent a phone That when you call somebody it paid you money back Something that I can actually like scan the piece of paper and then enlarge it like those photocopiers that you put it down But like portable carry it along Into the restaurant and quickly Scan the menu when I leave school. I would like to work out a zoo I really want to Become a Paralympian and also as a swedish teacher I was quite into being a social worker, but then Got the idea of architecture, so that sort of took over architecture is very Visual that's sort of a bit of a tricky path. I really want to go to NYU Scientist, you know that person that does the atom things and all that It's very hard to do at him things and it's very good. I'm being able to handle them There is lots of identity advantages, but there's definitely advantages and privileges you get to have a cane you get to wear glasses Some people say that's not that good, but I think it's really good. Sometimes if you have glasses You're you're sometimes a bit smarter you get to learn braille. I would Look at the positives not the negatives. I can just hear smell Taste and feel a lot more than people over just No vision loss. It's like good for having challenges It's cool. It's um an advantage to have the hardest challenge. I have a bit more power than other students. I might be able to get a guide dog Have any troubles or any problems communicate them if I had the choice to change myself I wouldn't I'd change see See things now. I can't see the ball as well. And then then it's very hard to play You know, I actually wouldn't change anything about myself if I could change one thing about myself. It would be Better vision. I don't think I really would want to change because being unique isn't a crime It's an honor don't change just because someone else wants you to Try and have fun doing everything don't complain listen to your mom dad don't always run like next to me Because I might not see you know my Bang into you. What would you want to be doing once you leave school? Going on holiday You