Jessica Micallef
Sunbury shoppers helped their Petbarn store raise more than $1500 towards Petbarn Foundation’s Seeing Eye Dog Appeal to help cover the costs of breeding, training and caring for seeing eye dogs.
Petbarn Sunbury store manager Rikki-Lee Douglas said 15 seeing eye dog puppies would be able to commence their two-year training process to assist Australians who are blind or have low vision, thanks to the generous donations from across the country.
“We are extremely grateful to everybody that donated what they could to this great cause,” she said.
“We know 2020 has been a challenging year for so many people, yet our customers continue to amaze us with their generosity.
“Thanks to our local … customers, 15 seeing eye dog puppies will be trained to provide companionship and special assistance to people who need it the most.”
Through donations across Petbarn stores, the appeal raised $775,000 in July, beating last year’s total by $250,000.
Vision Australia Seeing Eye Dogs general manager Graeme Craig said their partnership with the Petbarn Foundation was integral to raising funds.
“We are overwhelmed with how much has been raised for this year’s appeal,” he said.
“It takes a lot of expertise, time, love, patience and funding to raise these special dogs that will one day provide the gift of independence.”
