23
July
2020
|
09:12
Australia/Melbourne

Dog walker takes the lead at retirement village

With dog leads in one hand and plastic bags in the other, local Hamiltonian Daniel Cruickshank is the official Bupa St Andrews Retirement Village dog walker.

The 17 year old has been walking dogs at the village for a year and a half now and says it’s taken time to earn the trust of the dogs he regularly walks.

“It’s really important the dogs are comfortable with me as it’s easy for them to be scared by passing cars or locals.”

As a regular visitor to the village, Daniel’s mum recommended him for the job after she saw there were residents who were struggling to take their dogs for regular exercise. The amount of dogs Daniel walks varies but he walks them for 30 minutes, five times a week after school and takes a typical route around the St Andrews area.

The animal enthusiast likes dogs and cats the most as he has two of each at home named Coco, Miley, Leo, and Lewis. Daniel says it’s great to get out and about in the community to not only walk dogs, but also connect with residents.

“All the residents know me now and just making them smile and saying hello to them can make their day. It’s worth it.”