Meet Odin

Breed: Hamilton

Barking from: Assistance Dog

Job Title: Labrador

What's up dog?

Most people get placed with a fully trained adult assistance dog, but with my organisation I was able to get Odin as a puppy and raise him myself. He’s been such a constant in my life the last two year while I’ve had a drop in health. We’ve had to have an 8 month break from training out in public after my epilepsy became less manageable and seizures left my language and balance messed up. During that break though Odin still consistently helped at home with being there when I had seizures, giving me deep pressure when my ptsd caused nightmares and anxiety, alerting to my fainting, and just being his silly self. I’m so lucky to have raised and trained him myself because we have such a close bond which I really do believe makes a difference in us working together and knowing how each other ticks. He’s such a happy dog and that has been such a helpful thing the last year as I’ve had family pass a way and my partner has also lost a friend, but it’s hard to be upset all the time when you have a big clumsy dog picking up toys and doing a happy dance with happy growls.

2024 NZ Top Dog with a Job Award

Judging and criteria

This award will be judged on:

Purpose

This award celebrates a top dog that makes a positive difference in our society for the work they do to improve human (or animal!) lives on a day-to-day basis. 

Reach

Is the dog dedicated to assisting one human, or an entire team or office? 

Impact

How big an impact does this dog have in their workplace? Explain how much your canine friend has impacted the office culture, or improved mental health at work or of those around them. Give examples of how they have made an impact.