Copping abuse is a daily occurrence for the NSW Ambulance officers who go to work at the Charlestown control centre to take calls for help from a vast northern part of the state.
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The barrages include death threats, unwanted sexual advances and racism - but the ambulance officers have to remain on the phone and work through the abuse to figure out how to provide help. It's a tough job.
A new face has recently appeared to lift the spirits of those in the Northern Control Centre as they do their vital work.
Dozer, the 18-month-old border collie cross koolie, visits the facility one Friday a month, wandering around the office in search of pats, playtime and something to eat from his volunteer handlers from PAWS Pet Therapy.
Call operator Kirsteen Young said Dozer's presence was a calming influence.
Ms Young, known around the control centre as K, said she had been subject to regular abuse from callers seeking help, including insults about the Glasgow native's Scottish accent.
She said her previous experience working as a phone operator for the Scottish police showed her that abuse towards emergency services was a universal problem.
"It's a very stressful thing when you're trying to get people help and they're more interested in insulting or threatening you than they are in giving you the information you need to help them," she said.
"I've had my life threatened, I've had unwanted sexual advances made and I've had quite a few racist comments as well with regard to my accent.
"You do understand that for a lot of people it's a heightened situation for them - it's probably one of the worst days of their life, but there's a difference between the people who are panicking and the people who are downright nasty."
Northern Control Centre deputy director Chief Superintendent Alex Cooney said staff "hounded" her for Dozer's monthly visits.
Chief Superintendent Cooney said the Charlestown centre controlled dispatch from the Hawkesbury River in the south to the Queensland border and inland as far as Armidale.
She said abusive phone calls were a daily occurrence for her staff.
"I guess the best person [suited to the job] is someone who has the appropriate level of resilience because it is quite a difficult job, but also somebody who has got compassion," she said.
"We get abused, unfortunately, on a daily basis. It's never OK to do that. Having Dozer come and visit us once a month, it really just improves our day. When he's here, it just makes it a better environment and a happier place to be."
