Canterbury Care dementia residents make exotic new friends

Residents at a Canterbury Care home in Sawley, Lancashire, made some exotic new friends when Home Safari visited with its Animal Encounters roadshow.

Riverside Care Centre, which provides specialist dementia care, was transformed into a menagerie when a professional animal handler brought a variety of animals, including a pygmy hedgehog, a python and a baby meerkat, to meet residents.

The company, which takes the exotic creatures on visits to residential homes, schools and various other settings, offers Home Safari Animal-assisted therapy, which is designed to help improve the social, emotional and cognitive functioning of older people.

Following the visit, home manager Gail Ainsworth said: “Everyone at Riverside Care Centre had a fantastic time when Home Safari visited. We met animals that we have never seen before and probably won’t see again.

“We ensure that our residents have a wide range of stimulating activities to participate in and there has been a lot of research into the benefits of petting animals and its therapeutic properties. The afternoon with Home Safari was an activity with a bit of a difference, both enjoyable and beneficial for all.”