Video of lamb 'hopping around care home and stopping for cuddles' goes viral

A video of a lamb in a Lockerbie care home has gone viral. The Facebook video which shows Ginny the lamb walking with a resident has been viewed over 60,000 times and shared nearly 1,000 times.

Residents and staff from Westfield House Care Home were delighted to see Ginny the Valais Blacknose lamb interact with everyone earlier this week and brought back memories for one resident who owned pet lambs earlier in her life.

Team leader and bank deputy manager Lisa Todd said: “The residents were so happy to see the lamb hopping around the home and stopping for cuddles. It was a real pet.

'Bringing animals into the home makes everybody smile'

“One wee lady got down on her hands and knees to play with it saying ‘this takes me back to when I had pet lambs’. Another resident who was a shepherd for many years commented about the soft wool.

“The staff were overjoyed to see the smiles she brought to everyone and commented on how lovely it was to see the smiles on everyone’s faces."

Margaret Todd, the manager of the home added: “It is great to see the residents having the chance to pet such a lovely animal and take an interest in the breed.

"Bringing animals into the home is like the children visiting, it makes everyone smile.”

Ginny the lamb is owned by retired company director Anne Garthwaite who breeds this variety of sheep. Ms Todd said: “I asked if possibly she could visit with a lamb one day and her son's partner brought one for the morning which was fantastic."

This will be the first of many visits for Ginny and other lambs to the home. Ms Todd said they are planning to get the lambs in when the nursery children visit.

Namaste Care will be introduced to the home in January

Ms Todd is also introducing a holistic therapy called Namaste Care to the home in January. Namaste Care is a personalised approach to care for patients with advanced dementia. Namaste Care is an approach that focuses on engaging with each individual person’s senses through sound, touch, smell, taste and sight.

This personalised approach includes sensory activities like hand massage, tasty treats and drinks, and handling items relevant to the person’s previous interests such as balls of wool if they enjoyed knitting.

Ms Todd said: “I have been interested in namaste care for some time and studied it online for a very long time.

“I reached out to other people in other homes who were doing [Namaste] and the feedback was great. There were positive results in reducing anxiety, pain, aggression, increasing mood, appetite and all-round wellbeing."

Ms Todd has explained the process to relatives and professionals who visit the home. She said: “We start officially in January but have trialled with some residents who have found great comfort from the care which is senses based.”

click here for more details or to contact Westfield House Care Home