National Puppy Day is on March 23 and is a day to celebrate the magic and unconditional love that puppies bring to our lives. It's also a day to help save homeless puppies across the globe and raise awareness about the dark nature of puppy mills and backyard breeding practices by choosing to adopt not shop. Unfortunately I believe some people are still getting a...

If you are a regular reader of this blog and website, you would see many examples of dogs doing amazing things to help people in the community. The MacKillop Family Services PawPals program is another example of this. MacKillop Family Services supports at-risk children living in Melbourne’s west to engage in education through its Specialist Schools and education outreach services. Education is the cornerstone of...

One of my goals when creating Pooches at Play was to play a role in helping to drastically reduce the numbers of pets, dogs in particular, that end up in pounds and shelters each year.  After filming this week’s story with Dog Rescue Newcastle, my resolve is strengthened even further. When filming this story, I also visited the team at the Socares Wyong Animal Facility...

The Australian Lions Hearing Dogs, based in the Adelaide Hills, trains dogs for the hearing impaired to provide independence, security and confidence. They’re also helping save dogs’ lives, with the majority of their dogs being rescues. Whilst staying in the Adelaide Hills to film Episode 5 of our pet-friendly travel special, I visited the ‘home’ of the Lions Hearing Dogs to meet some clever rescue...

In this coming weekend’s episode of Pooches at Play, I visit the Victorian headquarters for Guide Dogs Australia and learn more about how Guide Dogs can help change lives We often don’t think about the isolation or frustration that people with blindness or low vision can feel in their daily lives. That’s where a Guide Dog and white cane can help to provide independence and...

You would have to be living under a rock to not be aware of the devastation that is being caused by the bushfires raging across Australia.  If your heart is breaking like mine at the thought of all the Australian wildlife losing their life or suffering injuries, I would like to urge you to donate to the PETstock Assist Bushfire Relief. With estimates of one...

Filming Pooches at Play has enabled me to see first hand just home dogs are helping people connect in their local community more than ever, and the important role they play in helping people overcome loneliness, isolation and anxiety. This is not surprising of course, as there is an ever growing amount of research being done that shows the positive impact pets have on our...

It's been a big month at Pooches HQ since Series 4 finished it's broadcast on Channel 10. Can you believe it has been and gone?  There's still plenty going on though at Pooches HQ, which I'm pretty excited about. Let's start with the opening of the Second Chance Animal Rescue Community Hospital, which I was lucky enough to cut the ribbon for, along with the...

In this week’s episode I travelled to Brisbane to the headquarters of The Young Diggers Limited organisation, which offers a range of support services for veterans of the Australian Defence Force, First Responders and their families. This includes their Dog Squad program that is helping individuals with the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD) and other mental illnesses, it is also saving the lives of...

In this Smart Pups story, we meet Valli and her autistic daughter Akira, and their adorable Smart Pups Assistance Dog Jagger, who is trained to help Akira with her autism and seizures to enhance her quality of life. Children with autism can feel safer, calmer and more understood through their bond with a Smart Pups Assistance Dog. They can increase an autistic child’s ability to...