Residents at Oakdale care home in Poole enjoyed a visit from two special guests – Guinness and Greyfriars Rufus the alpacas.
As part of a wellbeing session, Wendy Williams, of Alpaca Adventure, visited Oakdale care home in Kingsmill Road, Poole, where her alpacas spent time with residents, many of whom live with dementia.
The alpacas enjoy being around people and animal therapy is believed to have significant health benefits like lowering blood pressure and stress levels.
During their visit, Wendy and the alpacas spent time in the communal areas, as well as individual bedrooms, so that all residents, regardless of mobility, could enjoy meeting and stroking them.
Lauren Tompkins, Wellbeing Manager at Oakdale care home, said: “This was a unique opportunity for residents and staff to meet these beautiful animals and find out more about them. It proved to be a real success and fits very well with our regular activities and wellbeing-based approach to care at Oakdale.”
Rachel Dryden, Chief Executive, said: “It’s not every day you get to meet an alpaca and they are so gentle and sociable. The residents enjoy it and the staff do too.
“We encourage bringing animals into our care homes and love seeing the residents faces light up. It brings a whole new, fun and interesting dynamic to the home and is a very social activity.”
Oakdale is a purpose-built care home supporting 84 residents, offering residential, nursing and dementia care. Situated in Poole, the home is at the centre of the local community and only a short drive from Poole town centre and Canford Heath.
The home is part of the Encore family that includes Fairmile Grange in Christchurch, Great Oaks in Bournemouth and Hamble Heights in Fareham.
