FOR LIFE Best Friends

Aussie Lady of the house

SHE RUNS ON FOUR FURRY LEGS, plays obsessively with her yellow tennis ball and expresses a mild interest in the dog park, but despite the evidence, Aussie does not seem to know she is a canine.

“When we have parties, she is the life of them,” owner David Sassamo says. “She thinks she’s a person. Everyone wants to take her home.”

But Aussie the miniature Australian shepherd seems quite comfortable sitting in the living room of David’s White Rock-area home, legs crossed, in a contemporary canvas chair. Her eyes, one sky blue and one brown, rest attentively on her owner, as if she knows he’s talking about her.

When they visit the White Rock Lake Dog Park, she tends to isolate herself from other dogs and instead socialize with humans, he says. She loves the water. When they go to Cedar Creek Lake, where David stores a boat, she swims or lounges on a float. And she loves road trips.

While home during the day, Aussie and her doggie siblings — golden retriever Cleo and fullsized Australian shepherd Skye — enjoy a half-hour visit from Society Pet Sitters, a service based in the White Rock area.

The dogs can be a handful, David admits, but they can instantly put you in a good mood. “They are non-judging, always comforting and always happy to see you.”