A CARE home in Coundon welcomed some special visitors to help celebrate Chinese New Year and the year of the snake, writes Gabrielle Brown.
Pudding the corn snake and Milo the rat were brought into Lammas House residential care home by ZooLab, a UK-wide organisation which educates audiences about nature and animals to meet.
The animal therapy session was hosted by Clare Seery who was on hand to support and give information about the range of animals she brought.
Resident Josie Parnell said: “I absolutely loved Milo because I could stroke him and he reminded me of a guinea pig I had when I was a young girl.”
Studies have found that visits from animals support the wellbeing of care home residents, promoting reminiscing and storytelling.
Elish Somers reflected on her youth while bonding with Pudding.
She said: “Where I grew up, you would see snakes in the fields and you would get away quick.”
Lammas House is run by not-for-profit organisation Sanctuary Care.
The home’s manager, Heather Davis, said: “These kind of events encourage social interaction and camaraderie, creating a sense of belonging amongst our residents.”
“It was lovely to see so many people engaging with the animals-their visit certainly brightened up our new year.”
Visit sanctuary-care.co.uk for more information.
