International Guide Dog Day 2025: Guide Dogs WA celebrates with paw-some dogs showcased across Perth

They say dogs are a man’s best friend, but for some, they really are the paw-fect companion.

Each year, dozens of volunteers spend countless hours raising Labrador puppies to help them become full-time guide dogs.

Guide Dogs WA development and training leader Emily Gomboc said the pups were trained to assist people with vision impairment, autism and trauma.

“We also have dog-assisted therapy and facility dog programs . . . and we’ve got a dog at the children’s court who visits the witness room and comforts witnesses before they go in,” she told The West Australian for International Guide Dog Day on April 30.

“Our roles are very diverse, it’s more than just about vision impairment.”

She said Labradors were “great companions” and said they were favoured for their gentle temperament and trainability.

“They’re such great companions and they seem to have a sixth sense in terms of being able to read people’s emotions,” she said.

“No matter what type of days you’ve had or how you feel, dogs are happy and welcoming and their companionship is invaluable.”

Ms Gomboc said little Duncan — who is just seven weeks old — was getting ready to enter Guide Dogs WA’s puppy development program.

“They all start in our well-being program where they are exposed to basic things like different surfaces, sounds and smells,” she said.

“When they’re about eight weeks old they enter our puppy development program until they’re between 14 and 18 months of age and then they go and live with volunteer families.”

From there, volunteers spend hours exposing their pups to environments like trains, buses and shopping centres for when they go on and permanently live with a client.

“Our volunteers deserve so much credit for the time and effort they put into these pups,” Ms Gomboc said.

“Some volunteers commit for the whole 18 months . . . we also have temporary short-term boarders who take on puppies for respite periods so people can go on holidays which is encouraged because we want resilient, adaptable dogs.

Guide Dogs WA trainer Stacey Dorn said guide dogs had a “life-changing” impact on their client’s lives.

“They’e like ‘how did we live without this dog? How did we even cope with life before this dog?’” she said.

“There’s so much positivity and companionship to gain from dogs, there’s nothing else like it.”

Guide Dogs WA is today celebrating International Guide Dog Day with dozens of paw-some activations across the Perth CBD.

Guide dogs and training puppies will make an appearance at multiple Bunnings’, Murray Street Mall, Raine Square, Gramercy Bar and Grill and Belmont Forum.

And for every $25 donated, each person will be able to submit a name of their choice to name one of the training puppies.

“It’s an opportunity for the community to ask questions . . . and for us to tell them about our dogs because they’re such a crucial part of people’s lives,” Ms Dorn said.

“The dogs give people independence and freedom and it’s important that they have continued access to that.”