by Madelyn Cox Unsplash

Celebrating the Unconditional Love of Pets

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This month at Tamahere we’ve been celebrating the Season of Creation. So far we’ve enjoyed a special service to welcome spring, an outdoor communion service and a Creation Walk to the local Tamahere Cultural Reserve. The latter gave us a chance to clean up our neighbourhood by picking up rubbish on the way.

However, the outstanding highlight of the Season will be our annual blessing of the animals on St Francis Day. I’m hoping the chapel will be full of humans and the creatures who share their lives bringing so much comfort and joy, friendship and love. Last year’s blessing service was an exuberant celebration and we’re looking forward to doing it again.

One of the hardest things about going into aged residential care is having to give up a beloved pet. Some retirement villages like Tamahere allow residents to bring their pets with them. Having a cat, dog or other companion animal with them helps people to settle in and feel as if they’re at home. It also adds life to the village.

However, keeping pets isn’t always possible at other levels of care. Some of our rest home residents come to us having had to rehome pets they’ve had for many years and this can be just as hard as leaving their homes. If they’ve been living by themselves, their cat or dog may be their closest companion and they grieve their loss.

Over the last few weeks I’ve been taking our dog Felix into work. He’s a small ten-year old poodle who is friendly and gentle and he’s been a big hit with residents and staff. We go around the different units and he’s excited to meet everyone. It’s a joy to see dementia residents lighting up when they see him and reaching out for a cuddle.

When residents are feeling sad, agitated, lost or confused, the touch of an animal can restore joy, bring a sense of calm and evoke happy memories. One of the great things about pets is that they don’t care whether people are old, forgetful or wobbly on their feet. As long as they’re shown love, they accept people as they are and the love they offer is unconditional. Felix gives and receives so much love when he goes to Tamahere that he comes home thoroughly exhausted which as every dog owner knows is always a good thing!

The benefits of having dogs and cats visiting or living in a rest home extend beyond residents to staff. It’s been shown that animals in the workplace have a positive impact on staff morale. They create opportunities for conversation and connection, cheer people up and help to make the work environment a friendlier place to be.

Felix is fast becoming a vital part of the Tamahere family. Hopefully he’ll be joined by other people’s pets on St Francis Day when we give thanks to God for all the animals who share our world and bring us so many gifts.