They change destinies.
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And make the impossible real.
Find the physio.
For people with low vision or blindness.
Good boy.
They're the constant companions who transform lives.
Very nice.
This is the story
of one of Australia's most trusted charities.
Quentin, you're ready to go, buddy.
And the dedicated animals they nurture for a vital role.
Good boy, Elmo.
Welcome to the extraordinary world of Guide Dogs.
Get a look at your puppers.
On this episode,
She's got one week to go,
so there's not a lot of room for food anymore.
expectant mothers, Brooke,
Come on in here, darl.
You're going to get an X-ray.
and Opal,
Okay, there's 8 to 9 pups that we've got to try and get out.
prepare to give birth to a much anticipated brood,
This kind of thing still gives me goose bumps.
of future Guide Dogs.
It's awesome. It's an experience that we're really lucky
to be able to have.
So where does the story of our dogs begin?
Well, it's way back, even before they're born.
Time to meet some of the most precious dogs of all, the Mums.
In Sydney, Guide Dogs breeding
and whelping advisor, Leah, is making a house call,
to see Mum-to-be Brooke and her doting carer, Lani.
Thank you.
Hey Brooke.
So, she's got one week to go before she has her puppies.
You're such a good Mumma dog, aren't you?
And she's been a little bit lethargic,
she's had a little bit of vomiting,
and so we just wanted to make sure
that everything's going okay today.
Brooke sit.
The day before yesterday, she had an episode
of about two hours where she vomited five or six times.
Okay.
And the vomiting stopped, and she was a little bit flat,
but she's picked up a lot since then.
She is a little bit off her food but I think it's her size.
She's got one week to go,
so there's not a lot of room for food anymore.
Our home whelping program is where our breeding dogs
come to people's homes.
They look after them for at least four years
while they're in the program.
They have the mum while she's pregnant and then they
whelp the puppies in their homes.
With Brooke due to give birth any day,
Leah wants to make sure both Mum and her babies are doing well.
She's a good girl.
So we might just do an ultrasound and just to see how
the puppies are going today.
Make sure everything's going okay.
That's exciting.
This stuff brings back memories of my vet nursing days.
It's ok girl, come here.
Get a look at your puppers.
I think she's having about seven.
That was going to be my next question.
So, we can see a little puppy here.
Lani, can you see that one right there?
I can, look at it moving, wiggling around.
Moving around nicely.
Yes, and moving around.
She's gone to sleep now.
It's nice and relaxing.
Heavily pregnant Brooke is making
the most of sleepy time before her busy litter of pups arrives.
In Melbourne, Opal is also heavily pregnant
and Janice is bringing her in for a check up with vet Anne.
Come on in here darl, good girl.
Sometimes these labors, when she actually delivers the pups,
take a long time and so they have to know how long,
gives us an idea on decision making about whether she needs
to go to a caesarean
or whether we're going to try and get them all out naturally.
Good girl.
She's looking really good, she's in good body weight.
The precious Mums-to-be are given full health checks
to make sure everything goes smoothly for the birth.
You're going to get an X- ray, Ops.
How many hey? How many darl? We'll see.
Alright, there we got it.
That's the scan there. One, two,
three, four, five, six,
seven...
I think that's one there. Eight. That backbone coming down there.
Opal is carrying a big litter and everyone is on high alert.
We're looking and going, okay there's 8 to 9 pups
that we've got to try and get out.
And the effect that that's going to have on Mum and obviously
from a team perspective too,
because it means that we're here through the night.
It's a little bit apprehensive,
but this kind of thing still gives me goose-bumps
because I know that we're bringing new pups into the world.
And again, you know, Opal, it's a really vulnerable time for her
giving birth, and she's allowing us to be there
and be part of that process.
So, that's something that I take for the rest of my life.
It's awesome.
It's an experience that we're really lucky to be able to have.
That experience is about to begin again
for Leah in New South Wales,
as Brooke's big day, or night, has arrived.
Lani called me at 10:30 and said that Brooke's
contractions have started.
So, I've just arrived, and we're just now waiting
for the first puppy to arrive.
Every whelp I go to is different,
so I am a little bit anxious in the lead up to it.
So, sometimes they might
be really long, they might have
a big litter and it might last for quite a few hours,
or it might be a quick litter,
or she might have to go for a caesarean.
So, they're all so different.
Brooke's puppies are starting to arrive now.
Well done Brooke.
So, we're finishing cleaning off one and another one's arriving.
That's one girl.
Really exciting and interesting to watch.
A little bit nerve wracking.
So obviously, you're
hoping that everything goes well and there are no issues.
It's early hours of the morning and we have an adrenaline rush.
So, we're not really tired at this stage
because the puppies keep coming.
So, we're busy marking them,
and checking them, and making sure they're all healthy weight.
She's very cute.
I've been in this role for five years nearly now,
and I've delivered probably about 400 to 450 puppies.
So, each one is special.
They're all equally special and all equally different.
It's very exciting.
So, Brooke's puppies have all arrived
and they're all healthy, and doing really well.
Brooke's feeding them.
There you go, Brooke. Have your puppy.
Superstar Brooke has delivered 7 perfect puppies,
and Lani is overjoyed but realistic about the job ahead,
helping to care for this very precious litter.
I feel like I've just got that whole extra layer of responsibility
around keeping them well and keeping them healthy.
And, you know, they're going to go on to be Guide Dogs some day,
so I feel like I really need to do everything I can
to try to keep them as well and healthy as I can, and Brooke.
Six weeks later...
Hey Lani, how are you going?
Good, how are you?
Good.
The Guide Dog journey is about to begin for Brooke's
cheeky little puppies.
Oh babies.
The last one. Yes.
Leah is bringing her precious cargo
to their temporary new home at Sydney's Guide Dog headquarters.
Bye puppies.
Oh darling.
The next big step for these lively youngsters in a couple of weeks
will be a year-long stay with the incredible volunteers
who are puppy raisers.
Come here, sweetie.
Come on guys, come on.
You can support the amazing work of Guide Dogs Australia
by donating to the Petspiration foundation this August.
Help Pet Stock raise $200,000
by donating in-store or online.
Your generosity will transform lives.
In Melbourne, these are Opal's puppies.
In the end, a massive litter of ten safely delivered
with a natural birth.
And for carer Janice, it's bittersweet,
soaking up all the cuddles, but knowing she'll soon
be saying goodbye when they head to their new homes.
Come on you.
Thank you, thank you.
You know what, we are human, and yeah, there are pups and dogs
that we bond with.
And as we know that they're going home, we do get a bit,
not when I say emotional, we're not crying.
It is a tough time for us.
For me when I see, for example, one of our training dogs leave,
I get that reassurance and that comfort
to know that the part that I played has been done.
And now that dog is going to be
a pet, a companion dog, or a Guide Dog.
It's going to be something and I played a part in that,
and to me, that's awesome.
And all too soon,
two weeks later the time has come.
This is puppy Reid heading home with Michelle.
Let's go.
Slightly addicted myself
to puppy raising, but love puppy raising, love to be able to
give back to the community in every way that we can do that.
Michelle's dedication is incredible.
She's raised an astonishing 16 puppies in the last ten years.
Okay, in we go. There we go.
Look, look there's a cat.
It's a crazy amount of puppies.
Yes, lots of toileting.
We're going to go in here.
Come see your new house and your new room.
Good boy.
Every dog is so different, so it doesn't get old.
Really exciting to meet another one,
see what they're going to be like and find out the
the little personality this little puppy is going to have.
It's a case of helping him to settle in.
Because of all the support,
the pressure isn't as much as you would think it necessarily is.
But it's more of the pressure
you put on yourself to get it right, and to do the right thing by the dog.
And to make sure that it's going to make it and get into assessment,
and obviously, go on to be a guide. Fingers crossed at the end.
The hard part of giving them back is definitely outweighed
by all the positives of everything that we do in puppy raising.
Next time on Born to Lead,
Go and show them what you can do.
farewelling their fur babies is bittersweet.
I hope he gets to change someone's life as much as he's changed ours.
Come on, guys.
Training to become a Guide Dog begins.