When three-year-old greyhound Mimco bounds through the doors at Juniper Sarah Hardey Residential Aged Care Home in Kelmscott, the collective smiles she brings to the faces of residents and staff are enough to melt your heart.
Mimco’s owner, Nicky Taylor – who has worked at Juniper Sarah Hardey as a domestic cleaner for the past two years – has been bringing the spritely canine to the home every week for the past five months.
Having spent most of her time interacting with residents in the Memory Support Wing, there’s no denying the positive impact Mimco’s presence has in the home.
“She seems to trigger a lot of memory recall for residents who have dementia,” Nicky said. “They seem to remember her whenever she comes to visit.”
Before Mimco became a regular visitor at Sarah Hardey, residents were given the opportunity to vote for what kind of therapy animal they’d like to see at the home.
Needless to say dogs topped the list, with Mimco earning the deserving title of Sarah Hardey’s most popular four-legged companion.
“The residents absolutely adore her,” Nicky said. “She just loves coming here. She gets so excited every time we walk through the doors.”
The benefits of pet therapy in aged care include improved emotional wellbeing, reduced feelings of loneliness, depression and anxiety, as well as improvement in memory recall for residents living with dementia.
Watch Mimco in action here.
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