Companionship animals prove beneficial to mental health of Griffith aged care residents

A 2018 Animal Welfare League report found that only 18 per cent of residential aged care facilities in Australia allowed residents to live with a pet, despite 64 per cent of Australian households owning a pet.

A further one in two people over the age of 65 have pets but many relinquish them as they age because of fears about who will look after their pets in the event of illness or death, or when they enter a residential aged care home.

Unfortunately whilst residential aged care facilities in Griffith do not allow for pets, they do provide alternate options to residents.

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Scalabrini Griffith currently has a therapy dog that visits residents every Monday, whilst Uniting Aged Care (formerly known as Bupa Griffith) has a family of guinea pigs who live onsite, who have proven to be a great source of comfort to residents missing their former pets, or just looking to share some love.

According to Recreational Activity Officer at Uniting Aged Care Griffith, the most common phrases used to describe the guinea pigs by residents of the facility were 'our babies' and 'we love them so much'.

"I love them, they are beautiful and seeing them smile is the most important part of my day," one resident said.

Resident Peter O'Donnell tends to the animals every need and care, putting them out on the lawn in their enclosure in the morning and night.

Fellow resident Gladys Burgess makes sure to greet 'the babies' with a big smile in the morning, hand feeding them two apples every night.

And whilst there are still many reasons that make it difficult to allow for aged care residents to have their furry companions with them as they transition to a new period of their life, the efforts of aged care providers to provide communal animals to love and therapy dogs to visit has proven a real benefit to Griffith seniors.

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