Hi, my name is Lilyana, and I live with retinitis pigmentosa, a condition that has affected my vision since I was a child.
Today, I run my own dog daycare and boarding business from home and spend most of my time doing what I love — working with dogs. But getting to this point in my life, with the independence and confidence I have now, has been a long journey.
When I was in kindergarten, my parents first noticed I was having trouble with my vision. By the time I was thirteen, I was formally diagnosed. Not long after, my grandmother reached out for help and arranged white cane training for me. I was living in Kingston South East at the time, and someone from Guide Dogs travelled over three hours from Adelaide to support me.
That early help made a real difference. With my cane, I could stay out a little later with friends and feel safer navigating in low light.
Even so, there were limits. I had several close calls crossing roads because I couldn’t always tell when it was safe. I often avoided busy shopping centres because I worried about bumping into people or making mistakes in crowded spaces. Living with low vision meant constantly managing anxiety about safety.
Everything changed when I was matched with my Guide Dog, Puzzle, almost two years ago.
Puzzle truly is the missing piece of my independence. With her by my side, I can go out and do things on my own that I never felt confident doing before. The biggest change has been safety. Since working with Puzzle, I haven’t had a single close call with traffic. She makes smart, split-second decisions when we’re crossing roads — decisions that I simply couldn’t make reliably on my own.
But the impact goes beyond practical support.
Having Puzzle with me emotionally grounds me. Public transport and busy environments used to be stressful, but now I feel calmer and more present because I know I’m not alone. She gives me confidence not just physically, but emotionally too. As someone who has lived with restrictions for most of my life, that feeling of freedom is incredibly powerful.
Puzzle is sweet, sensitive and wonderfully wiggly. At home she’s a happy, slightly cheeky Labrador who loves hikes, the beach and playing with the many dogs who visit my daycare. But the moment her harness goes on, she switches into work mode with incredible focus.
She will carefully guide me around even the smallest obstacle, sometimes things I wouldn’t have noticed at all. Her traffic awareness is phenomenal, and the trust we built when we were matched has been life changing.
Guide Dogs’ support didn’t stop once I’d been matched with Puzzle. Whenever I’ve had questions or needed help, the team has been there, just a phone call away, ready to go above and beyond to make sure both Puzzle and I are thriving. Knowing that support is there brings enormous peace of mind.
Looking ahead, my partner Fred and I are hoping to buy our first home with a bit more space for the dogs. I’m excited to keep building my life and independence with Puzzle by my side.
I often think about my grandmother, who first reached out for help all those years ago. She passed away in 2019, but when I discovered that Puzzle shares her birthday, I was overwhelmed. It felt like a little sign that this partnership was meant to be. I know she would be proud of how far I’ve come.
Click here to support people like Lilyana by making a tax-deductible donation by 30 June. Your support can help provide life-changing services, independence and confidence for people living with low vision or blindness.
