Education - Who is Buddy?

Hey there, my name is Buddy; it is very nice to meet you!
I'm the Guide Dogs Mascot and I want to tell you all about what Guide Dogs in South Australia and Northern Territory do to help people who have a vision impairment.

Let me begin by telling you how I became a Guide Dog Mascot.

I was born in Adelaide on July 15th 2004. My mothers name was Brandy. You may not know that when Guide Dog Puppies are born their name must start with the same letter as their mother, and as my mother's name started with the letter 'B', my name needed to start with a 'B' as well. That is how I got the name Buddy. This means that the staff at Guide Dogs knows which litter a puppy has come from and who their mother is, no matter where they are in the world. That is very clever, don't you think?

When I was eight weeks old I went to live with my puppy raising family who looked after me for twelve months. I love living with them. They would take me everywhere it would teach me how to behave in shopping centres, at restaurants and on buses, trains and even in cars. My Guide Dog Trainer would come to visit and we would go out so she could see how well I was doing. I learnt lots of new things but I was having a bit of trouble with my concentration.

To become a Guide Dog you have to be able to do many things and one of them is to concentrate, not to get distracted when you are working, and to be on your best behaviour at all times. It was very hard for me not to be distracted by children because I love to play and they wanted to play with me too. I tried very hard to not be distracted but I am sad to say it didn't work. My trainer said that this did not mean I wasn't a good dog it just meant I couldn't be a Guide Dog because Guide Dogs have to concentrate on what they are doing all the time and to be distracted by children could place their handler in danger and nobody wants that to happen!

We were all very sad but Guide Dogs came up with a great idea that would mean I could still help people in a different way. I could finish the training and become Guide Dogs very own Mascot. How exciting! I live at Guide Dogs now and I can help children just like you understand what Guide Dogs do.

I will be doing my best to teach children everywhere and having lots of fun along the way. Maybe you may like me to come and visit your school. All you have to do is email me with all the details and I will try and organize to come to your school and we can have some fun together while I teach you all about Guide Dogs and how they help people with vision impairment.

One last thing! You may like to take me home with you well now you can. You can by a cute cuddly Buddy toy. Just email or ring Jo at Guide Dogs and she will let you know how you can take me home.

Your new friend Buddy