Safe Haven was delighted to welcome a brother-sister act of the furry kind this week (September 8) as part of our kitten therapy session, and it didn’t take long for them to charm their way onto the armchairs for cuddles with our clients.
Smidge, the tabby male, and Smudge, the dark female, are 10 weeks old and belong to one of the Safe Haven team. They are ideally suited to pet therapy as they are playful, extremely affectionate, very comfortable with strangers and too cute for words!
And aside from wowing the clients and staff alike, they also made sure to make some time for their own mischief and mayhem at 100mph, with the odd power nap thrown in too.
Research has shown that people with dementia often see pets, such as cats and dogs, as being friendly and non-threatening, and as they offer unconditional love, they make an ideal companion. This can help to eliminate various issues related to the condition, such as difficulty with engaging in social interaction, loneliness, isolation, depression and anxiety. In some cases, it will also evoke memories of days gone by when one might have actually owned a pet, and brings out the maternal and nurturing instincts in some too.
Our own experiences have shown that a person with dementia who is not responding to much in their natural environment will respond to the love and affection that a pet can offer. With this in mind, pet therapy sessions are now very much a regular feature of our activities’/therapies’ timetable.
For more information about our pet therapy sessions, either call 01494 854 399, email us at: enquiries@safehavendementiacentre.co.uk or keep an eye on our What’s On page here, which is updated regularly: https://safehavendementiacentre.co.uk/whats-on/
