Aubrey, possibly the most-loved dog in the Shoalhaven, was recently included in a book.
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Each week for the past three years his owner, Jeanette Grayston from North Nowra, has taken him to visit the residents of Osborne House nursing home.
Aubrey is a Delta Dog used in pet therapy, a role that suits him perfectly.
Mrs Grayston, a Delta Dog volunteer, said the residents of Osborne House had each claimed Aubrey as their own.
“They all say, ‘He’s my dog’ and Aubrey loves it,” she said.
Delta Dogs must have certain qualities and a love of being close to people is one of them.
They should not bark and should take food gently. They must also be able to ignore food.
“I remember the first time I took Aubrey to Osborne House, he was wandering around, going up to people and they were patting him.
“Then he came to a man on the lounge and jumped up next to him.
“I called him off and said, ‘No you can’t jump up on the furniture here’.
“The man said ‘That’s alright, I’m blind’.
“It was as if Aubrey knew the man could not see him, so he jumped up to get close to him.
“He loves being close to people,” Mrs Grayston said.
The Delta Society recently launched a book titled Dogs that Make a Difference.
The society asked its hundreds of volunteers around Australia to send in anecdotes about their dogs.
The book contains about 60 of those stories and one features Aubrey.
The book was launched recently in Sydney and at Dean Swift Books in Nowra on Friday. Aubrey was a special guest at the launch and turned out to be a major drawcard for the store.
