An East Dorset care home experienced the therapeutic power of animals during a visit from a bunny named Thor.
Residents at Colten Care’s Fernhill in Longham were joined by a collection of furry critters from the animal education group, Wild Science.
Wild Science provides educational and therapeutic workshops at schools, nurseries and care homes around the region.
Workshop presenter Gemma Rockett took a bearded dragon lizard called Gimli, a guinea pig called Abbey and her sizeable lop-eared rabbit, named Thor.
Residents at Fernhill, which is a specialist dementia care home, took turns holding some of the animals on their laps.
Gemma said: “Close-up interaction with animals can be a soothing and relaxing experience and the joy of holding or stroking the animals was clear for some of the residents.
“They seemed to particularly like Thor, who as always loved all the attention.”
Karen Grant A’Court, one of Fernhill’s activity organisers, said: “Our residents really enjoyed petting the animals and were full of smiles. Some even reminisced about pets they had growing up.”
