A much-loved four-legged therapist at Solihull Hospital is like a dog with a bone as he tries to sniff out votes in his bid to be crowned a dog magazine’s best friend of the year.

Little Chihuahua Roo, twice a runner-up at Crufts, is well-known to staff and patients on the stroke ward at Solihull Hospital, part of the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, where he works as part of the Pets As Therapy (P.A.T.) project.

The 10-year-old is owned by the ward’s housekeeper Jane Neary who is hoping her beloved pet can get enough public votes to be crowned HiLife Best Friend of the Year by Dog Monthly magazine.

Jane, from Solihull, said: “Roo has been a therapy dog for eight years now and the patients, staff and visitors love to see him. He comes on the stroke ward and works alongside the physios and encourages people to speak and laugh and will chase a ball around.

“He brings a lot of joy to a lot of people and you can see it in their faces when they see him. It’s lovely that he has a chance of winning this award and I hope as many people as possible will vote for him.”

Roo is no stranger to the limelight. He does an online blog, walked the red carpet in a tuxedo at a James Bond event at Merry Hill Shopping Centre, been on stage with the cast of hit musical Legally Blonde and got down to the last 30 for the role of Toto in Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s production of The Wizard of Oz.

Jane said: “Roo has done it all and we will be back at Crufts again in March. However, I think he is most at home when he is being a P.A.T. dog. When he got his yellow P.A.T. jacket on he knows he has a job to do. There is just something special about him – he has a very calming way about him.”

To vote for Roo, who also visits children at Acorns Hospice, email Kathie.L@abmpublishing.co.uk and put ‘Best Friends’ in the subject line and ‘Roo to win’ in the email. Voting closes on December 4.