Dogs, no matter how small or big they are, certainly bring great happiness to people who are exhausted, lonely, or simply in need of love, care, and support. Imagine the joy they can give to elderly people living in aged care homes as they become part of the Hounds Helping Humans initiative?
On Instagram, HammondCare—an independent Christian charity providing health, palliative care, dementia, and aged care services—expressed gratitude to Greyhound Rescue for taking the lead in an Australian-first pilot program focused on letting rescued greyhounds embrace a new purpose; providing support and engagement for the elderly.
“I am delighted that one part of this Life Engagement Pilot is evaluating how animal engagement and support can improve quality of life for residents,” HammondCare CEO Mike Baird said.
“What a wonderful outcome if rescued greyhounds can be given a new purpose providing happiness for those who are older in the community,” he added.
In the program, the rescued greyhounds have undergone training to prepare for a residential aged care environment, where they will bring companionship to residents as part of our overall life engagement program and relationship-based model of care.
“Greyhound Rescue has partnered with HammondCare to bring a spark of joy and companionship to people in residential aged-care homes. The program is based around regular visits from Greyhound Rescue teams of a Hound + Handler with the initial focus on HammondCare clients living with dementia,” Greyhound Rescue said on its website.
“Greyhounds are greyt candidates to assist with wellbeing in aged care services. They are generally calm and docile in nature as well as being tall enough to be accessible to people who are in wheelchairs or confined to beds. Hound + human teams have been carefully selected for the program. Each team has undergone purpose-designed training to prepare them for the sounds, sights, activities, and equipment (such as wheelchairs and trolleys) they will encounter in an aged care environment,” it added.