AN EXTRAORDINARY guide dog who helps her owner with the gardening including weeding and digging won a new set of fans after paying for her owner's cuppa in a restaurant.

Coffee, a yellow Labrador retriever cross, has qualified as the first wheelchair guide dogs in North Wales.

She delighted customers when out on a special trip to Swansea with Rhyl owner Anne Morris; the two-year-old picked up Anne's purse in her teeth and balanced on her hind legs to reach the till.

Coffee has been trained in Wales by Guide Dogs Cymru and assists Anne who has limited vision and mobility.

Coffee's special talents were identified during her first year, which she spent with puppy raisers. She progressed to full training and now has a range of unusual skills to help her owner.

Anne, 61, who is married to Gareth and has lived in Rhyl for about 30 years, said: "Coffee takes off my socks and gives them to me. She fetches the post, puts in in my hands and, once we’ve opened the letters, we give her the envelopes to shred with her teeth. Then she picks up the bits and we put them in the bin, so you could say she makes a mess and cleans it up.

"When I'm shopping, I will give her money in a purse and she will pay. If I'm not well, she is so caring and come and sit with me. She is more than good company.

"I can walk a bit but tend to fall. Before I had Coffee, picking things up was a struggle, and so was getting undressed. But I’m going to teach her to pull my trousers off next.

"She likes gardening, and helps me weed and dig. She has made life so much better. I’m more in control of my life without having to rely on husband, Gareth.”

Anne and Gareth, who have son Henry, 40, took Coffee to visit customers and staff of the Kardomah Restaurant, who raised £5,000 to sponsor her.

Marcus Luporini, restaurant owner, said: "We are proud to support Guide Dogs and so happy to see the finished product. We never imagined we would get to meet Coffee again and make that connection.

“Raising the money to name Coffee was fun and became a real team-building exercise. I hope we can go on to raise money for another guide dog.”

A spokesperson from Guide Dogs Cymru said: "Coffee’s potential as a wheelchair guide dog was spotted early on by Guide Dogs while she was still in training. Anne and Coffee qualified as a partnership in September 2017."