Puppy Therapy

Our residents had a lovely surprise visit of two chocolate Labrador/collie cross pups from our local Dr Doolittle Louise Knibb. The puppies were a great source of excitement and joy to our residents, some of whom hadn’t held a puppy in a little while. The recognised benefits of puppy therapy are:

  • lowers blood pressure, improves cardiovascular health, releases endorphins (oxytocin) that have a calming effect
  • diminishes overall physical pain, the act of petting produces an automatic relaxation response, reducing the amount of medication some folks need, lifts spirits and lessens depression, decreases feelings of isolation and alienation, encourages communication
  • provides comfort, increases socialization and sense of community, reduces boredom, decreases anxiety
  • creates motivation for the client to recover faster, reduces loneliness.