Australian Dog of the Year 2025 Winner Elle featured on Today Show, Channel 9
Story Aired – 3 February 2025
Story Transcript:
Australian Dog of the Year has officially been crowned and it’s gone to a very special pooch. Elle the Deaf bought a collie, beat out a long list of contenders to snag the title and it’s all based on her incredible work as a therapy dog. We’re joined now by the winning dog’s mum Robyn Adair on the Gold Coast and awards founder Kerry Martin in Melbourne.
Hey guys Robyn, congratulations, a big honour huh? How did that feel? Oh it was amazing, very humbling, there were so many deserving nominees but Elle certainly did it and it’s just great, we’re very proud of her. She is such a special dog isn’t she? Tell us a bit about the work she does. So Elle works at Helensvale State School with the children there who are anxious or who need some help during the day.
She wanders around with me and we just make sure everyone’s feeling safe. So she relies on sign language to communicate, can you can you kind of demonstrate that for us and everyone at home who’s watching this morning? Sure, so if I want her to sit, it’s a little bit hard up here on the lounge. She’s already seated too.
So that’s a sit and a drop. So everything’s doing sign language, just you know movements. She does multiple tricks, all sorts of things, she does those with the children at school.
Amazing, she’s got a lovely nature. Yeah they love it. It’s just incredible you know being able to teach that to a dog as well and then what she’s able to impart to those children.
But Kerry, what was it about Elle I guess that made her the Australian Dog of the Year? I love that she’s not limited by anything, goes at it. I don’t think dogs know limitations the way people do. So she’s living her best life but making such a contribution in doing so.
So proving that she can do what other dogs that have hearing can do, but also working with children, helping them, giving them their best start as well. You know I have a beautiful German Shepherd, Chance, who I’m surprised wasn’t nominated. I’m not.
Completely and utterly useless apart from looking beautiful. He is beautiful. He’s a very very handsome dog.
Were there any other standout canines? There were many incredible dogs. It’s always a tough tough decision that the judging panel has to make. We had beautiful dogs that you know their stories move you.
Some of them move you to tears. We had, that was Daphne on the screen, so she overcame a car accident despite everyone saying she wouldn’t. That’s Bear on the screen now.
He’s saved hundreds of koalas through a detection. He can actually find the koalas, not just their scat. Like you read the stories and you’re sort of like dogs are truly amazing.
I think we should celebrate and recognise what they do a little bit more. Absolutely. They’re better than humans, some of these dogs, aren’t they? That’s for sure.
Why are you looking at me? No comment, no comment. Robin, how’d you celebrate with Miss L? Oh well we had a day where we had, she actually had sausages for lunch, which was her treat. And she played with her siblings that we have here that are also deaf.
Oh how wonderful. Well congratulations. Very deserving.