Jess and ‘Astra’ begin life as a Guide Dog team - December 08

GUIDE Dogs Queensland client Jessica Kendall and Guide Dog ‘Astra’ have arrived home to Burleigh Heads having completed their training to become a working Guide Dog team.

A black Labrador, ‘Astra’ is Jess’s first Guide Dog and is proving invaluable in giving her a newfound sense of freedom, independence and mobility.

Guide Dogs Queensland Communication and Marketing Manager Donna Hurley said the Gold Coast community could help Jess and ‘Astra’ settle in and safely continue their training at home and at work at a local radio station by not stopping or distracting the new team.

“Their new status as a working Guide Dog team is the culmination of several months of training for ‘Astra’, followed by an intensive three-week residential matching and training class at GDQ’s Breeding and Training Centre, at Bald Hills in Brisbane,” Ms Hurley said.

“Jess and ‘Astra’ will continue their training with a Guide Dog Mobility Instructor at their home and though it’s natural that people will want to meet the new team by approaching them you are possibly endangering their safety.”

“Jess and ‘Astra’ need to maintain a high level of concentration and being interrupted can inconvenience them, disrupt and possibly delay their training.”

Ms Hurley said Jess and ‘Astra’ join 90 other Guide Dog teams throughout the State, and 18 other teams on the Gold Coast, and were lawfully allowed to enter cafes, restaurants, taxis, shopping centres and public places. The Burleigh community can help Jess and ‘Astra’ remain safe and independent by following some simple guidelines:

• Do not pat, feed or distract a Guide Dog when in harness and without consent of its handler. 
• Keep pet dogs properly restrained when out in public. 
• Talk to the handler and not the Guide Dog. 
• Remember Guide Dogs are lawfully allowed to enter cafes, restaurants, shopping centres and taxis.