Observatory Village resident support dog, 3-year-old St Bernard, Luca, is not only man’s best friend but a loved, entertaining companion to the village’s older residents.
Luca’s owner, Diane Lee, has visited her father at the village for seven years and since Luca was a pup he has loved going along.
Mrs Lee said Luca is a "quiet dog" who prefers to be off the lead, freely gravitating towards his favourite Observatory residents.
"Luca usually takes himself ... and he’ll head off and find his friends."
Observatory resident Ella Lamb, 94, has enjoyed Luca’s visits since he was a puppy.
"I love his colouring and his dark eyes. He’s a beautiful animal."
Mrs Lee said despite his size and weight (75kg) and the fact not everyone is a dog fan, Luca’s gentle nature had won people over.
"He’s quite tall, so he’s quite good to say hello to when people are sitting down or in bed or anything like that.
"He knows to just put his head really close to them and hold still. He’s learnt how to say hello."
Even for the non-dog lovers, many residents "quite like seeing him" and staff and residents were inclined to spoil Luca.
Receptionist Darlene Bentley, an animal lover, usually greeted Luca, Mrs Lee said.
"She always has treats for him ... He runs in to see Darlene and now he runs in and tries to get the cat food. He thinks, ‘oh Darlene, I’ll go and get something’. It is funny."
Mrs Bentley said the large St Bernard brought "something special to the oldies".
However, while good natured, Luca’s natural curiosity had led to "funny" spectacles — particularly with other residents’ pets.
"He’s got a bit of a thing for birds ... you can see his head go up and he’ll just trot around to the birds.
"Of course, he’ll never hurt the birds but he’s scared the birds [once] and it wasn’t a good look," Mrs Lee said.
Luca was, as a rule, not a cat chaser, but a game which started when he first met the Observatory’s resident cat, Sneak, continues.
"I was standing at the reception signing in and the cat darted right in front of us. Luca took off and ran through a social event with this cat, and it was a bit of a drama ...
"So if the cat sees him, he’s off. It’s so funny."
But importantly, Luca was often found keeping company with the residents or joining their social events.
"We used to go to the sing-along activity and sometimes he would sing along too, " Mrs Lee said.
