What is even better, though, is when those strangers become friends.

This has been the case over the past three years for a pack of furry volunteers, who have padded in and out of Highlands hospitals, nursing homes, private homes and businesses.

Today's cover story, A Tail to Tell About Literacy, shares the newest program to be delivered by Paws Pet Therapy - a not-for-profit organisation which was started specifically to service the Highlands' pet therapy needs.

Recently, the organisation became a registered charity in the hope of securing grants, funding and sponsorship to ensure its future as a long-time contributor to the Highlands community.

To write this article, I had the pleasure of meeting Paws Pet Therapy president Sharon Stewart and two of her volunteers, Lisa McKay and Maria Morton, and was immediately aware of the hard work and personal investment of those involved in the charity.

In what seems like a fantastic job - who wouldn't want to take their fur babies to work each day - there is in fact a great deal of emotional commitment.

Working in palliative care units, quite often these volunteers - both human and four-legged - bring a final moment of joy to patients, or spend hours by their side as they undergo treatment in oncology units.

Having a cry in the car on the way home is not an unfamiliar concept to many of the 40-plus volunteers involved in Paws Pet Therapy, who give of their time, and their fluffy family members, to support those in need all across the Highlands.

While it may only be a pat or a cuddle at a time, this group of volunteers is changing and improving lives in this community, and their tale is one I hope to see wagging long into the future.

By Victoria Lee