Pride of Australia Medal 2015: 14 years devoted to special puppies
GRANDMOTHER Lillian Eastlake-Smith has raised a newborn every year for the past 14 years — including dealing with toilet training time and time again.
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GRANDMOTHER Lillian Eastlake-Smith has raised a newborn every year for the past 14 years — including dealing with toilet training time and time again.
But her charges go on to become invaluable aids for the blind and seeing-impaired.
The Guide Dog Association puppy raiser from Quakers Hill said: “It’s like having your own children, all their personalities are different so your approach to training is different.”
Ms Eastlake-Smith and her family have loved, trained, walked and cared for a puppy a year since 2001 before passing them on to someone who needed them.
Her efforts have earned her a Pride of Australia nomination for Community Spirit.
“Every 20 minutes or half hour you’re taking them out for toilet training — it’s like having a newborn,” she said with a laugh.
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“So slowly you train the dog and it’s a family thing so we all have to get involved, and every time a new puppy comes along you think, ‘oh I forgot about that bit’.
“It’s like having a newborn every year, and every time you get a new puppy it starts all over again.
“I find it very fulfilling — it gets you out of the house and walking and exercising and interacting with your puppy.”
Nominate someone who deserves recognition at prideofaustralia.co.au until July 19.