She’s a sociable dog, the kind who is inclined to slip off after dinner to hang with friends enjoying schnitzel night at the Fed, or to join a gang of teenagers down by the river.

Now you can see Pearlie starring in a colouring-in book as she trots around Bellingen.

Her owner Bernadette created the book, which contains black and white drawings of 29 of the town’s best-known buildings, plus some details about their history.

“My dog Pearl is the protagonist, and her recent ‘adventure about town’ inspired the theme for the book,” Bernadette says.

She’s referring to a day a few months ago when Pearlie vanished for so long that she was feared stolen or killed.

But she’d just been popped into someone else’s yard by mistake at the end of a particularly social evening.

The idea for such a book first arose when Bernadette was looking for an affordable and truly local souvenir for a visitor over Christmas and not having much luck.

“It was surprisingly difficult,” Bernadette says. “I decided that a little book featuring some buildings mostly in the main street would be perfect as a gift and easy to send.

“I spent time at the Bellingen Historical Society researching each building and was delighted by the stories I discovered.”

She put the drawings on Instagram and found people were really keen on them.

“I drew the Gelato Bar first and was so encouraged by the feedback I received on social media that I just kept drawing.”

Bernadette is proud to say that the book is hyper-local not only in its subject matter but also in being designed, drawn and printed in Bellingen using high-quality paper and recycled card.​

She will be exhibiting some prints from the book in Big Fig Arts at the Bellingen Brewery.

The opening is on Wednesday June 20 at 7pm and the display will continue up until July 9.

The book is now available in Hyde Café, Sweet Bellingen and on Etsy (Pearlabouttown) for $20, and each one comes with a bonus sticker of Pearlie.