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Life with Skye: support, squeaky toys and second chances.
Barbara has always faced the world with inner strength, spirit and the mindset that “you’ve got to keep putting one foot in front of the other”. Now in her eighties and living in a retirement village near Penrith, she navigates daily life with the help of her trusted Guide Dog, Skye, a strong, steady, and affectionate companion who helps Barbara live each day with confidence and independence.
Skye is Barbara’s fifth Guide Dog and the largest dog she’s had. Four-year-old Skye provides vital stability, especially on uneven ground and around the pleasant but hilly pathways of the village. The pair catch the bus from the stop outside the village, and Skye helps Barbara get to where she needs to go.
“She takes me to the doctor, the podiatrist, the hairdresser, and the hearing aid place. Then she takes me to the dog wash—I don’t have a dog wash; she does,” Barbara laughs.
Skye is not only strong and reliable but also great company at home. Barbara grooms her daily with a Furminator grooming tool and two other brushes. When the harness comes off, Skye likes “chatting” with Barbara, making sounds similar to conversation. She also enjoys leaning against Barbara’s feet while she knits, and she loves to play. “She’s got a couple of squeaky toys that she plays with. I throw them, and she races and picks them up, squeaks them, and thinks she’s doing marvellously,” says Barbara.
From uncertainty to independence.
Barbara’s journey to this point hasn’t always been easy. She has lived with a genetic retinal condition her entire life. From age eight, Barbara could no longer read print and everything appeared as “blurry light and dark shadows.” As a child, she didn’t want anyone to know about her condition. She attended a regular school without any support (there simply wasn’t any back then) and worked hard to hide the extent of her change in vision. That decision stayed with her as she grew up, married, and started a family. “I didn’t want anyone to know I couldn’t see,” Barbara says.
When Barbara and her husband moved to Penrith with their 15-month-old daughter, she found herself in a completely new environment. “It was a fairly difficult time in my life,” she says. Barbara didn’t know the layout of the street or how to get to where she needed to go. “I would put the baby in the stroller, walk to the corner, then walk back, going a little bit further each day.”
As Barbara’s vision got progressively worse, she started using a cane. However, due to her high level of activity, she developed a repetitive strain injury in her elbow. So, at the age of 48, she contacted Guide Dogs and began the process of applying for a dog. With no training centres in NSW at the time, she travelled to Melbourne and spent six weeks training with her first Guide Dog, Quella.
It was a life-changing experience. Before having a Guide Dog, Barbara missed out on many things in life. With her Guide Dog by her side, she was finally able to visit her mother in Bathurst by train, explore her local area more freely, and travel to Sydney to take part in Guide Dogs events and public talks. “Guide Dogs really gave me a second chance at life.”
A new “leash” on life.
Barbara became a passionate advocate for Guide Dogs NSW/ACT. Since 1994, she has been speaking to schools, Probus clubs, and church groups, and giving talks to bus drivers, taxi drivers, nurses and doctors about the important role of Guide Dogs and how to interact responsibly with them.
She’s committed to raising awareness—especially around the importance of not distracting a working Guide Dog. People often don’t realise that even when lying under a table or chair, a dog in harness is still working. Talking to, patting, or even making eye contact with a Guide Dog can be a dangerous distraction—something she has to be mindful of since Skye is a very popular pooch.
“People around the village are getting a little bit too flattering where Skye can hear them, and she’s starting to think that she’s the centre of attention,” says Barbara.
Barbara’s journey hasn’t been without heartbreak. The loss of her husband and a previous Guide Dog within a short period left her temporarily without a dog—and with a loss of confidence. But with the arrival of Skye, she found her independence again.
Today, Barbara continues to live life with purpose. Whether she’s catching the bus, attending appointments, or enjoying a walk around the village, Skye is right beside her—not only providing mobility but unconditional companionship, proving that it’s never too late to reclaim your freedom.
