Jupiter, a local Tauranga dog, has made the finals of New Zealand Dog of the Year with the winner due to be announced next month.

Nicole Baker is the proud owner of Jupiter, an Australian Kelpie, and is extremely proud of how well he has done.

'He's just been named a finalist in New Zealand Top Dog '22 which is a huge competition run by a company called Frog Recruitment – they focus on dogs. This year they received 350 entries for the category that I submitted Jupiter into,” Nicole says.

'I submitted him into the work from home category and what they focus on is how your dog helps improve your mental health when you're working remotely which has become a lot more common due to COVID,” she says.

Before Jupiter came along Nicole's struggle with mental health severely impacted her career.

'My whole role now is remote, and I used to struggle staying in roles with companies. I would get really stressed and anxious and it would just be too much for me and I'd end up just having to leave. I've had a rocky career history,” she says.

Nicole says that Jupiter has changed her mental and work life for the better.

'I got Jupiter just as I started the job I'm currently in and it's crazy the difference he's made in my life. I'm still in the role and got over my one-year milestone which doesn't sound like much to a lot of people, but for me it really is,” she says.

'Jupiter just made me focus on the present and I felt that a lot of the time my anxiety makes me either obsess over the past or focus too much on the future. Having a little fur-child made me focus 100 percent on the present because I have a little life to look after,” she says.

Aside from being a great support to Nicole, Jupiter has had to show off his repertoire of tricks to make it to the finals and is classified as an advanced trick dog.

'Jupiter can ring a bell, do spins in both directions, leg weave, he can go up my arm and walk, walk forwards and backwards on command, and he can stay put and still when I leave the room,” she says.

We wish Nicole and Jupiter the best of luck for the finals. You can vote for the New Zealand Top Dog '22 at https://www.frogrecruitment.co.nz/vote-for-2022-nztopdog.