Alpacas use lift to visit care home residents

Just as everyone was preparing to enjoy afternoon tea, two alpacas arrived to surprise residents at a Powys care home before popping into the lift to see more residents on the top floor.

A 100-year-old resident was enjoying daytime television when the two alpacas called Alex and Bethany walked into her bedroom.

Frances Williams said: “Oh my gosh. What a shock! It was lovely to stroke them.”

The visit was arranged by Izzy Titley, activities coordinator and Daniel Hart, registered manager of The Oaks, who are bringing new ideas to the daily lives of people living in the home.

Ms Titley said: “I’m leaving The Oaks in a few weeks to travel around the world, and I wanted to pull some final tricks out of my hat to surprise the residents. I told them we were just having our usual Friday afternoon bingo!

“They met Digby the dog at Christmas and that was brilliant pet therapy, but we’ve stepped it up bringing alpacas into the home. All the residents love animals and it was lovely that the alpacas were free to walk around the home and interact with everyone.”

Alex and Bethany came to The Oaks Care Home after some of the residents mentioned they would like a trip to Chester Zoo.

Mr Hart said: “We have a great team at The Oaks and we love coming up with new and unusual ideas to brighten up the lives of our residents.

“Some of our residents mentioned that they’d love a trip to Chester Zoo but we thought it would be more fun to bring the animals to them. The alpacas were a big hit and it was wonderful to see the look on everyone’s faces when they arrived.

“I believe it’s so important for our residents to have a full and interesting life and we’ve got bags of creative ideas including a schedule of events to get them out into the heart of the community.

“We’re fixing trips to the local pub, shopping visits so they can buy treats for their loved ones, cinema and theatre outings and we’re even planning to go to the local bingo hall. We’re hoping they bump into people they know and will get a lot out of doing normal things.”

Interacting with a friendly pet can help many physical and mental issues. It can help reduce blood pressure and improve overall cardiovascular health. It can also release endorphins that produce a calming effect. This can help alleviate pain, reduce stress, and improve your overall psychological state.

The Huacaya alpacas are part of a therapeutic team of seven alpacas from Admirals View Alpacas in Shropshire, which is run by Sarah Tickle.

Sarah Tickle said: “Alpacas are very friendly animals and they loved their visit to The Oaks Care Home. They’re comfortable in the lift so even residents on different floors didn’t miss out on their visit.”

click here for more details or to contact The Oaks Care Home