Paws for Purpose
Blind Low Vision NZ’s Guide Dog service is one of the key ways help people with vision loss are free to live their lives independently and safely.
More than just a way to get around. Anyone who relies on one will agree that a Guide Dog is also a loyal, devoted friend and family member.
Blind Low Vision NZ is the only organisation that train and breeds guide dogs for New Zealanders with vision loss, yet, we receive no government funding for this.
There are currently 180,000 New Zealanders who are blind, deafblind or have low vision. It’s estimated this number will increase to 225,000 by 2028.
This anticipated increased demand over the coming years will extend this waiting time unless more dogs can be successfully trained as guide dogs.
But did you know it takes nearly two years and more than $50,000 to raise and train a Guide Dog?
Charged with making what could potentially be life or death decisions on behalf of their handlers, our dogs have to learn some very smart skills and pass strict criteria. This requires rigorous training and support that continues long after graduation.
Paws for Purpose is a fun and creative way to raise these much-needed funds and make the world a more beautiful place in the process!
What is Paws for Purpose?
Many New Zealanders will be familiar with our life-sized dog coin collection boxes (also known as Trudy Dogs). As a result of our increasingly cashless society, and with retail space at a premium, many of our coin collection sites prefer smaller counter-top boxes, (which now also have QR codes). Our Trudy Dogs are now, sadly obsolete.
Our iconic Trudy dogs have been transformed into truly unique, highly-collectible works of art by some of Aotearoa’s top artists.
In March, 2023, we sent 33 of these dogs home with the lucky winners of our first online auction.
Now, it’s the turn of our Paws for Purpose Pedigree Pups…
These 7 Trudy Dogs have been painted by celebrity artists including Tim Christie, Ian Mune, Dame Denise L’Estrange-Corbet, Dick Frizzell, and more.
The Paws for Purpose Pedigree pup Auction is now on at Webb’s Auction Portal.
Click this link to visit the portal and make a bid today.
You can also view the pieces at Webb’s Auction House at 33a Normanby Road, Mount Eden, Auckland 1024. They’re open 9am to 5:30pm Monday to Friday.
Happy Bidding!
