A callout on Friday afternoon has ended up being one of a DoC ranger's better work stories.

The pukeko has gone from pest to New Zealand icon, starring in TV commercials, gracing souvenirs and almost upstaging the kiwi. So how did a long-legged, ungainly bird — the bane of farmers’ lives — become a celebrity, asks Dionne Christian.

They can do the laundry, collect the mail, even comfort a child with autism. Suzanne McFadden meets the canine helpers giving people their lives back.