Residents at
Cold Springs Park, residential and residential dementia care home in Penrith, were visited by some interesting animals.
Claires Creatures an animal experience company came to the home with a variety of different animals for the Residents to look at and learn about.
Claire visited both units, so everyone had the opportunity to take part. She brought in a snake, a frog, a tortoise, a skinny pig, a guinea pig, a gecko and a hedgehog.
She gave a talk about each animal with interesting facts then walked around giving everyone the opportunity to stroke and handle each of the animals.
Colleagues were surprised how brave some of the Residents were holding the snake. One of the Residents who held the snake, said, “Snakes are misunderstood animals, they're not scary at all."
Residents were shocked at the different skin textures and weights of the animals as they weren't all what you'd expect.
Everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy the session and felt like they had learned something new.
One Resident, commented, “It was a great activity, and it was really good to see animals you don't see every day and to learn new facts.”
Another Resident, said, “I learned a lot about the animals that I didn't know."
Jacqueline Johnstone, Care Home Manager, remarked, “I am such an animal lover I loved holding all of the animals and learning about each of them.”