Three canine visitors brought smiles to Five Oaks residential care home

A labradoodle. Photo by Gayatri Malhotra on Unsplash

Residents at a Hadley Wood residential care home received some very special four-legged visitors this March as part of an animal therapy session.

A Labrador, Labradoodle and Cocker Spaniel from charity Pets As Therapy (PAT) visited Five Oaks in Barnet.

In a visit designed to support the health and wellbeing of those living at the Barnet care home, the three ‘paw-some’ guests were given a warm welcome and enjoyed plenty of strokes from everyone on the day.

‘Animal therapy’ refers to the use of animals to help people with specific physical or mental health conditions. Joanne Jarvis, Registered Manager at Five Oaks, said: “Interaction with different animals is great for our residents’ mental health and wellbeing. It was wonderful to welcome the Pets As Therapy dogs into the home today and thanks go to Sandra for bringing them along.”

Pets As Therapy is a national charity that enhances the health and wellbeing of thousands of people in communities across the UK. Sandra Caine, Pets As Therapy Volunteer Area Coordinator, said: “Therapeutic visits by our PAT Teams can bring comfort and companionship to many and help improve mental health and wellbeing. We often visit care homes across the country and it’s always lovely to see the smiles our pets bring to residents. Our dogs Poppy, Marley and Nola enjoyed their visit to Five Oaks today. We’ll be back again soon.”

Five Oaks is a purpose-built residential care home for the elderly with 44 ensuite bedrooms (registration for 45 residents) on Cockfosters Road in Hadley Wood, Barnet. It was opened by AgeCare in February 1995.

For more information on Pets As Therapy, visit: https://petsastherapy.org/

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