Dogs. They’re known as ‘man’s best friend’ and with very good reason.

But to many people, dogs are more than just friends. They’re their owners eyes and ears, their emotional support, they can act as medical alert to those in need, and they can even carry out heroic deeds for the wider community as service animals, from mountain rescue to helping to detect explosives.

This week is International Assistance Dog Week (IADW) – a time created to ‘recognize all the devoted, hardworking assistance dogs helping individuals mitigate their disability related limitations’.

Dogs truly are wonderful creatures. But they’re not the only ones. Many different animals offer support and service to us humans and we plan to spotlight some of the wonderful work they do over the coming months.

But as it’s IADW, so assistance dogs are our focus here and we’ve found some truly wonderful assistance dogs that will bring a smile to your face and in one particular case, not just in the way you might think!

Meet Grant, a very special black Labrador who has transformed the life of Adam, an autistic teenager

Meet Atkins the dental dog who is helping to calm kids’ fears while at the dentist

Meet Newton and Gadget – Seeing Eye graduates who have changed the lives of Mollie and Jeffery.