Tanya Hosch’s two kelpies, Ziggy and Wombat, have been a huge comfort to her over the past six months.

“They’re incredibly affectionate,” says the executive general manager of inclusion and social policy at the Australian Football League. The canine duo have toned down their natural energy while she continues a slow and steady recovery from the amputation of her lower right leg in August last year. The empathy of the two dogs has been something to behold. “They are very intelligent,” she says.