Pets in our Care Communities
We welcome resident pets and animal visitors in our Care Communities as they truly make a house feel like home.
Anyone who’s experienced the tiny paws of a puppy, the comforting cluck of a chicken or the tickly whiskers of a rabbit will recognise the feeling of joy animals can bring. With this in mind, many Opal Healthcare Care Communities regularly welcome pets and animal visitors to spend quality time with their owners and other residents. These pets and animal visitors provide a positive mutual topic for conversation and can stimulate memory and reminiscence.
Pet Therapy
Most pet owners will agree that animal interaction can improve physical, mental and social wellbeing. Pet therapy is a guided interaction between a person and a trained animal the purpose of which is to help someone recover from or cope with a health problem, or more simply to provide companionship that is safe and comforting for the individual. Aged care communities can benefit from regular visits from animals trained to offer support and companionship to people in an unfamiliar or stressful environment through animal assisted and pet therapy.
What are the benefits of pet therapy?
- Pet therapy builds on the pre-existing human-animal bond. Interacting with a pet can help physical and mental issues, including reducing blood pressure and improve overall cardiovascular health.
- Pet therapy can also help with releasing endorphins that produce a calming effect, which can help alleviate pain, reduce stress, and improve overall psychological state.
A furry friend can help elderly people feel needed and comforted. Pet therapy can enhance an individual’s quality of life with ongoing physical and cognitive benefits and in our Care Communities, this can take many forms. It may be a formal program, having one’s own pet live with the resident in our care, or enjoying regular visits from a family pet. Whatever the format, when our residents engage in pet therapy, we typically observe improvements in quality of life, including reducing tension, fatigue, and confusion, and encouraging positive emotions and attitudes. Spending time with animals may also help in other ways - reducing visits to the doctor and medication intake, as well as lower cholesterol and blood pressure. Elderly people can also recover more quickly from illness and surgery, deal with stressful situations better, and have a reduced risk of heart disease.
Zeus brings joy to Cameron Park Care Community
Reasons why animals are important in aged care
Animals provide companionship
Many residents are no longer able to care for their own pets so visiting pets often fill the gap by providing the companionship that they miss, which can also reduce feelings of loneliness.
Animals provide comfort
The act of cuddling and hugging animals can be soothing for residents, helping to reduce stress and anxiety and combat feelings of depression.
Animals can prompt treasured memories
Interaction with certain types of animals often reminds residents of pets they owned growing up, this is particularly beneficial for our residents who are living with dementia.
Animals can improve overall health
By encouraging positive emotions, social interaction and increased mental and physical activity levels, overall health and wellbeing can improve.
Commonly asked questions about pets in our Care Communities
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Family pets are welcome to visit, although we ask our families to ensure that pets don’t enter the dining room during mealtimes. In some circumstances, you may be able to bring your pet to live with you although this needs to be agreed in advance with the General Manager.
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Each Care Community has their own rules and policies when it comes to pets and animals. If you would like more information as to whether your local Care Community accepts pets or has regular animal visitors, please send us an email or give us a call.
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Pet therapy is also known as animal-assisted therapy (AAT), which is a formal, structured set of sessions that helps people reach specific goals in their treatment. Pet therapy can enhance an individual’s quality of life with ongoing physical and cognitive benefits. In our Care Communities, this can take many forms. It may be a formal program, having one’s own pet live with the resident in our care, or enjoying regular visits from a family pet.
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Due to the calming nature of animals, people living with dementia can benefit greatly from pet therapy. Animals are able to help calm and comfort people with cognitive decline, even helping them to communicate and speak. An animal can encourage a person with dementia to express themselves through non-verbal communication and action. There is evidence to suggest pet therapy can help a person with dementia re-engage with what is happening around them and bring back old memories.
