Once a month, Wilbur spends a couple of hours entertaining diners at the Hato Hone Wānaka St John seniors’ luncheon.
The free lunch was enjoyed by many, including Wilbur, his owners Barbara and Graham Povey said.
"It is really good for the people who come.
"They play bingo, we have singing and quizzes and people really like it.
"I had a lady asking when the next one was and when I said end of January she said that was such a long way away," Mrs Povey said.
Wilbur is also a member of the Wānaka Oodle Club, which meets every Sunday in town to socialise and pose for tourist photographs.
The Wānaka Oodle Club accepts other dog breeds too.
Mrs Povey started training Wilbur as a therapy dog when he was about one year old.
She had also trained her previous dog, Spider, and her daughter’s dog Herbie, with both going on to become reading companions for school pupils.
"With animals, it is just about having something special in your life and kids feel a little bit more special and so proud when they are called out to spend time with the dogs," Mrs Povey said.
Therapy dogs get exhausted from the attention, so often work just a couple of hours at a time.
"When Wilbur comes home from St John’s he absolutely conks out," she said.
Therapy dogs are sometimes puppy school graduates — as Wilbur was — but they could be older dogs. Spider signed up when he was eight.
St John canine volunteers are put through their paces by dog trainer Leone Ward.
They are tested on many things, including coping with moving wheelchairs and things left on the floor.
A therapy dog’s super powers include obedience, calmness and loyalty, Mrs Povey said.
Wilbur has also found a Cavoodle girlfriend, Billy, who volunteers at Te Kura O Take Kārara.
Contact St John or Age Concern for senior luncheon details. The next is on January 27.
Wānaka Oodle Club meets at Wānaka Station Park, Sundays at 9am (10am in winter).
— Entrants for the Wānaka Sun 2024 Dog of the Week should email hello@thewanakasun.co.nz with name, address, phone number, photo of dog, its name, age, breed and a short story of no more than 50 words.
