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St John is scouting for over 100 volunteers for a very special program - and they are pretty fussy about who will qualify.
For starters, they are assessed for their temperament and their ability to give unconditional love.
The Therapy Pets programme brings big rewards - but some areas of Aotearoa are currently missing out.
Once a week the retirement village Summerset by the Park in Manukau gains a four legged resident.
Seven-year-old Moose has been visiting since last year with his owner Susie Mitchell, as part of St John's Therapy Pets programme.
He is a Golden Retriever crossed with a Samoyed - giving Susie a lot more than she bargained for in size.
They have been volunteering at the rest home since February last year, once Moose's uniform goes on, he knows what time it is.
"He's really in his comfort zone, he's such a show pony and he loves being cuddled, so it's kind of the perfect job for him. It's been just really nice to see him sort of interacting with a different group of people and seeing how gentle he is and how he just kind of has the ability to light them up," she said.
For over 30 years St John has been bringing furry friends to bedsides and classrooms around the country as part of their Therapy Pets programme.
Therapy dog Moose is the highlight of the week for some residents of Summerset Retirement village in Karaka. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
Volunteers and their pets spend time in rest homes, hospitals and schools to help people who are lonely and unwell or children with learning disabilities.
National Community Care Manager Julie Tarvener said it was a very special programme.
"It's a connection for a lot of people in rest homes... they become I guess the adopted grandchild for some of these people, so it's a really special connection."
Once a volunteer had signed up, pets like Moose were usually good to go on their visits, most of the time they were a great match, but often puppies were out of the question.
"Even some of the older dogs as they age their temperaments can change so we do an assessment, there's a recruitment process, we go through our police vetting for our volunteers and then an assessment of the pet," she said.
The pets don't have to be dogs, they even have horses involved.
With Covid interruptions the rest home has been a lonely place at times, now Moose is allowed back in, it is the highlight of the week.
"He'll come up and give you a kiss right on the nose you know he's just lovely and I love him," said one Summerset resident.
"He's a beautiful dog, he's very friendly, he's lovely," said another.
Seven-year-old Moose has been visiting since last year with his owner Susie Mitchell, as part of St John's Therapy Pets programme. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
All the love from residents means Moose has been getting wider.
"I think he put on like two or three kg's after we started coming here last year and because they just save him their morning tea, so I think today he got two scones and a piece of banana cake already," said Susie.
But the nature of the rest home mean his friends come and go, which can be confusing.
"We've had a few of his friends that have passed away, which has been really sad because he sort of knows his way around and he knows the people that save him morning tea, so he still tries to go into their rooms to say hello, it's a little bit heart breaking."
The programme is in huge demand and St John is hoping to expand to other parts of the country, but they need volunteers to make up the numbers, with the Hutt Valley and Wellington in desperate need of 20 pets.
In early 2023 they will be accepting applications for 15 pets in Rotorua, the East Coast of the North Island, Gore and Oamaru.
Applications are open for all of their other teams in Kerikeri, Whangārei, Rodney, Auckland, Counties Manukau, Waiuku, Thames, Palmerston North, Marlborough, Nelson, Greymouth/Hokitika, Christchurch, Timaru, Dunedin, South Otago, Invercargill and Central Otago.