Bob the black Labrador is a very special dog. Sometimes seen on the streets of Barnard Castle, he’s the only therapy dog in Britain working directly with rough sleepers.
The four-legged charity worker has been in harness with Cornerstone Supported Housing for more than a year, and staff at the Bishop Auckland-based charity describe him as “absolute gold dust.”
“He’s like the hug that we can’t give ourselves,” said Nicky Morson, Bob’s owner and spokesman for the charity.
“He brings people warmth and comfort, and the people we’re helping remember that feeling.”
The canny canine support animal also has a valuable role to play in leading people to the help they need.
“People get sick of telling the same stories again and again to the authorities,” added Ms Morson. “But when they meet the dog, it can change the atmosphere. Sometimes, it helps people open up.”
When people start talking, it gets easier to help them. Bob can be a vital ice-breaker at the start of the process. But it doesn’t end there.
“When someone is engaging well with our support, we see how their needs change,” said Nicky. “But Bob stays with them all the way through.
“They keep seeing him, and we know that if someone is having a bad day and maybe finds it difficult to deal with people, we can always bring the dog in.”
Bob’s journey began almost by accident. When he was a puppy, he used to come to work with Nicky and would sometimes join patrols to get some exercise.
It wasn’t long before he became a hit with many of the rough sleepers Cornerstone was trying to reach and he completed his training as a therapy dog in 2024.
He was recently at work in Barney during the cold snap in early January, when he joined the neighbourhood police rough sleeping team to assist a man staying in the Butter Market.
The Labrador’s success with Cornerstone has alerted other homeless charities to the potential.
Locally, Durham Action on Single Housing is training a support dog of its own – a dachshund, in keeping with the organisation’s acronym DASH– and the idea is becoming more widespread.
