Meet Lee, Retired Guide Dog Frankie and Guide Dog Ollie.

Retirements are rarely easy, especially when your colleague is as essential to the job as Guide Dog Frankie.

After more than eight years together, living on three continents, attending countless meetings and walking thousands of kilometres, Lee Kumutat and Frankie are preparing for a new chapter. Frankie is retiring as a Guide Dog and handing the harness over to her successor, Guide Dog Ollie.

Lee has hundreds of memories from their years together, but one stands out.
While travelling to work on a tram in Manchester, England, Lee was talking to her mother in Australia and did not realise they had reached their stop. Frankie, focused on the job, recognised the stop and followed her training by getting off the tram. When Lee realised what had happened, she found Frankie waiting patiently on the platform for her.

Sometimes, you really can be too good at your job.

After years of adventures together, Frankie is beginning her retirement with Lee’s parents. She will be surrounded by familiar faces, plenty of affection and, no doubt, a few extra treats. And with every team change comes a new beginning.

Lee has recently been matched with Guide Dog Ollie, who has already shown he's ready for the role. Before they were officially partnered, the pair had two trial walks and tackled trains, ferries, busy offices, cafés and the crowds of Sydney’s Circular Quay together. Ollie took it all in his stride, which is a much longer one than Frankie’s!

While every Guide Dog is different, the bond between a Guide Dog and their Handler is unique. It's built on trust, companionship, compatibility and countless everyday moments.

It's also shaped by a much larger community. From the volunteers who help raise future Guide Dogs, to the staff who support every stage of training and matching, there are many people behind every successful partnership.

Through each developing relationship, these connections can be the basis of friendships, support and good times, for years.

As Frankie settles into retirement and hands the harness over to Ollie, one thing won’t change: the adventures will continue.