See Differently with the Royal Society for the Blind is one of the oldest charities and health service providers in South Australia, with nearly 140 years of history.
Our Guide and Assistance Dog Program is changing lives, growing, and evolving.
More than 20 years ago we started our school, focusing on guide dogs for blind South Australians. Today, more than 80 blind South Australians live independently with their See Differently guide dog.
Our expertise in breeding and training guide dogs led us to expand our program nearly 10 years ago. Our flagship OPK9 program pairs veterans with post traumatic stress disorder with highly trained assistance dogs. Today, more than 50 veterans have a See Differently OPK9 dog by their side.
The growth and expansion of our program has also continued in recent years with our therapy dogs working with children aged 2-18 with autism. With our trained occupational therapists, the program is improving communication skills and emotional regulation amongst participants.
We know there is more demand for our OPK9 program and animal assisted therapy and we have ambitious plans for the next decade to further grow and innovate.
A great team
We have a great team at See Differently. In our Guide and Assistance Dog Program we have a fantastic team of experts, many with international experience. We also have a very large volunteer workforce, who enable us to deliver so many guide and assistance dogs each year. And of course we are part of the wider See Differently team which offers a wide range of services for people with low vision.
We believe that dogs raised in homes make the best guide and assistance dogs, so our puppies are raised in volunteers homes, with the help of our puppy team. We run our own breeding program but also collaborate with many other fantastic partners to deliver our program.
See Differently offers flexibility, training and career development, in one of Australia’s most liveable and affordable cities.
Life in Adelaide
We know that Sydney and Melbourne are the most recognised of the Australian capital cities, but there’s a lot to love about living in Adelaide. It’s a fantastic coastal city with a great climate, fantastic beaches, amazing wine regions less than an hour from the city and a high quality of life.
Adelaide has a brilliant food culture, a love of sport (especially Aussie rules and cricket) and has a vibrant music and arts scene with one of the world’s leading fringe festivals every summer.
It’s also a safe place with far more affordable housing than Sydney and Melbourne. In short, it’s a great place to live.
No dog is an island – read the full paper
You might have met Daisy and Simon at the IGDF conference in Vancouver and heard about the work we’re focused on.
You can either see the poster or download the detailed paper – No dog is an island- A collaborative approach to setting puppies up for success.
Working at See Differently
As an innovative and growing Guide and Assistance Dog School, we are always looking for fantastic people with international experience in guide dog schools to join our team.
We’d love to chat. Tara is our lead for people and culture, so email her for a confidential discussion about See Differently and your career ambitions.
