"It's a two-way thing - I love them and get so much from them, and then I know someone who really needs one of these dogs will benefit from me having helped," he says.

He remembers when his first seeing-eye dog, Queenie, went back to SEDA after he had her for a year.

"She was exceptionally clever and graduated at 15 months old - they are usually about 18 months."

It's what followed Queenie's graduation and placement that made Collin sure he wanted to have more SEDA dogs.

"Queenie went to a lady in Perth and I got a phone call from her.

"What she said to me had me in tears - she was so happy to have Queenie. She told me her life was so much easier and better with her, and thanked me for all I had done."

SEDA dog number two for Collin was Wisdom, who also graduated with flying colours and lives with her owner in Perth. Wisdom has the same mother as Collin's current dog, E.D, who is named after the woman who has sponsored her.

Dogs cost about $25,000-$30,000 each to train, so sponsors are very welcome.

Typically, SEDA dogs go out to volunteers in the community at about eight weeks and stay for about a year before returning to SEDA for their "intensive training".

Collin says SEDA's trained staff teach the dogs a lot that the home volunteers can't, but the volunteers still do a lot of teaching.

"It's not so much about going on long walks, but getting the dogs out into all sorts of situations to get used to them."

For Collin, the decision to volunteer to help train SEDA dogs wasn't difficult as he's an animal lover but the timing was due to a long and serious illness.

"I was in hospital from April 2004 until September 2005 and once I got out I couldn't return to work.

"Once I was home for a short while, I wondered what to do with my time, and then I saw a local advertisement for SEDA volunteers. "Jan [his wife] and I discussed it and thought it was perfect. We got Queenie in December the same year and now want to keep training SEDA dogs for as long as possible."

Collin says it is so rewarding he would like to encourage others to do the same. "It's a commitment, but you get so much out of it too."

SEDA is a not-for-profit organisation and doesn't receive any government funding.

Anyone in the area wishing to fill their days with puppies or sponsor a dog can call SEDA on 93816400.