The famous JOY Dogs, known for their appearances in advertisements, recently put on a show for the residents at the Pembury Retirement Village in Sandton.
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Sue Green, owner of the dogs, has always had a special interest in dogs and has been involved in dog training and handling for 20 years. Green has assisted in running support groups together with a psychologist and a social worker, focusing on assisting people with personality disorders and psychological problems.
The dogs are old English sheepdog breeds and the name JOY, is an acronym for Jazmine, Oscar and Yola. They are nine, six and three years old, respectively.
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JOY Dogs visit institutions, retirees, the disabled and wellness centres, to spread their joy. They are very well trained and entertained the residents with a lot of different tricks they’ve learned, which include: “Speaking” on command, reading “sit” or “down” from cards and they’re able to jump through hoops over the other dogs and crawl through a tunnel.
“I brush the dogs every day and they don’t like the grooming. They can tolerate bathing,” explained Green, who collects all the hair from the brushing and has recently acquired an old spinning wheel with which she creates products from the dogs’ hair. “The first item I made was a beanie and it is pure dog hair and not mixed with sheep’s wool,” said Green. She’s also made a scarf and crocheted a blanket with the dogs’ hair.
To book the Joy Dogs, contact Sue Green on 082 455 8634 or e-mail: sue@joydogs.co.za