UK's first therapy dog for the homeless based in the North East
Bob works with the charity Cornerstone to tackle homelessness
People who are homeless and rough sleeping in the North East are being supported by the UK's first therapy dog.
Bob, who is a three year-old black Labrador, is part of the team at Cornerstone - a charity that aims to end homelessness in Hartlepool and County Durham.
His owner, NIcky Morson, is the support and communications lead there and she said: "He's been with me since he was a tiny puppy. I started bringing to work for exercise and it soon showed that he got massive engagement from anybody who was rough sleeping. The first gentleman we came across never engaged with us whatsoever but he'd seen Bob and asked to speak with Bob and we were like 'yep, no problem but you speak to us as well.' It just opened up that contact and it opened up that support.
"He's a massive asset to the charity. If we come across somebody who's rough sleeping, the first thing we do is offer Bob as a way of warming up and a bit of contact. We can't touch people these days and we've lost that compassion where you can giev someone a hug but Bob can give that contact that we can't. Also, if they're in a state of crisis it brings them down to a level that we can support because he brings calm.
"When he was qualified and they told us, it blewed me away that it hadn't been thought of sooner and it hadn't been noticed because we know what a massive issue we have with homelessness in the UK, and what an asset he is to ourselves for engagement and the trust that people give us because of Bob.
"One of the reasons we've started to talk about Bob is to sort of get the message out so people look to also qualify their own dogs and take them with them, because there's so many charities up and down the country that do amazing work with the homeless. I just think it's a niche that a lot of charities have never thought about."
22 year-old Terri-Lee Mincher gets help from the charity and tells us why she loves Bob: "He's friendly, he gives me lots of cuddles and he's like a big bear. He's a really nice dog actually. I want to take him home.
"I got brought into hospital last week. I was on the floor and he was sat on my shoulder crying, so he knows me and he helps me. It's just nice to have a nice dog like that."