Community
6 May, 2026
Bringing humans and pets together through therapy
With its origins in the Southern Highlands and an office in the Wollondilly area, as well as a branch in Bathurst, PAWS Pet Therapy is a popular initiative for both humans and pets alike.
With its origins in the Southern Highlands and an office in the Wollondilly area, as well as a branch in Bathurst, PAWS Pet Therapy is a popular initiative for both humans and pets alike.
Starting 14 years ago in 2012, founder Sharon Stewart saw a need for people who were lonely in hospital and what the healing power of dogs can really do to the human soul.
PAWS Pet Therapy now operates from their office in Orangeville, north of The Oaks, and due to Mrs. Stewart and her husband Russell embarking on a ‘tree change’, they now also have a second office in Bathurst.
“I was a Registered Nurse by profession and was doing pet therapy as a bit of a ‘hobby’, and I saw that there was a bit of a need in the Highlands and elsewhere for therapy dogs,” Mrs Stewart told The Southern Wire.
“When we first started there was only three of us – me, my mum and my husband – starting with our dogs, and now we’ve grown to over 570 volunteers since then.”
The Orangeville office is staffed by two people, one of them being Office Manager Nadine Kosztka, who although only starting in 2023, has already come to love her role in facilitating pet therapy for people and seeing what special things it can do in people’s lives.
They also have a PAWS Pet Therapy Committee, started last year, with Russell Stewart as President, Executive Committee Secretary and Campus Security Manager (as his day job) for Macquarie University John Durbridge, Megan Flood, and David Muller.
“No matter where our volunteers go, it’s just phenomenal to see the hospital patients and nursing home residents interact with our dogs,” Mrs Stewart said.
“You see the smiles on their faces, their blood pressure go down, and even their pain perception lowering – it's all researched and its out there, but when you see your dog doing that for someone, it’s pretty special.”
Mrs. Stewart added that at the moment, PAWS has approximately 120 active volunteers and is encouraging them to tell their stories.
One such volunteer, Southern Highlands resident David Barbuto, visits Bowral Hospital with his dog Riley, a seven – year-old O’Connell Retriever, and he is also supported financially by the Bowral-Mittagong Rotary.
Riley also has ‘celebrity’ status at Bowral Hospital, as she is known by all the nursing staff and management, and even has her own SWSLHD name badge!
“I first started volunteering with PAWS about 8 years ago in 2018 with my old dog, a labradoodle called ‘Bing’, and we used to visit the patients in the old Milton Park ward of the old hospital,” Mr. Barbuto said.
“Then when COVID hit, we had to stop for a while and so I got Riley, and we also visit the cancer centre at the Bowral Private Hospital and we have even visited the Mental Health Unit of Liverpool Hospital.”
Mr. Barbuto said there are other volunteers and their dogs who visit the aged care facilities in the Highlands including The Abbey and Bowral House.
“I’m just amazed at the brain’s capacity to heal itself in a patient through even just seeing the dog come to visit them and to feel their touch by having a pat,” he said.
“If the person can feel even just a little bit better, that’s all that matters. I have even had relatives of former patients and those who did eventually pass away come up to me in the street and say ‘I remember when you and Riley came to visit my Dad, and she really made the healing process (or palliative stage) much easier to cope with’.”
Mrs. Stewart is now also setting up branches and searching for volunteers around both the Bathurst and Orange areas.
“If anyone is interested in volunteering with us there is a very quick, two-minute enquiry form on our website that they can fill out,” she said.
“This just gives us some basic details about the volunteer and their dog.”
For any more information on the staff, the Executive Committee and what else PAWS does, you can contact PAWS Pet Therapy on 0418 869 181, or visit the website at www.pawspettherapy.com.
Read More: Camden, Bowral, Southern Highlands