Care Home Partners with Petting Farm to Provide Animal Therapy to Residents

A care home in Brentwood has partnered with a local petting farm for animal therapy as part of the care and support they provide to the people of Essex.

Old Shenfield Place, which is owned by Premium Care Group, welcomed Tammy and her petting farm to the home after first being introduced to Tammy’s farm back in March.

Tammy owns a farm in Stock, Chelmsford, but due to the cost of living crisis she was struggling to fund the farm, so has now started a business as a petting farm visiting local businesses in the area.

Tammy visits local care homes and other organisations with her animals which include her pony, rabbits, dogs, guinea pigs, and even a bearded dragon lizard.

Residents were really excited about the visit, which helped improve their moods and encouraged playfulness and creativity. One resident, Dolly, expressed how it had brought her a lot of joy and nostalgia as it reminded her of all the animals she used to keep when she had the ability to do so.

In July, Old Shenfield will be the new owners of two guinea pigs as Tammy will be gifting them to the home and will provide mentoring on how best to look after them.

Animal therapy has been linked to stress relief and can ease loneliness by providing social interaction and companionship. Animal companionship has also been linked to reducing challenging behaviours within care settings, as well as the decrease of anxiety and sadness through physical touch and activity and the release of ‘happy hormones’ such as serotonin and dopamine.

Due to the success of the partnership and the numerous benefits to residents, Old Shenfield Place is now seeking to adopt guinea pigs and a rabbit to become permanent residents of the home.

Cristina Duran, manager at Old Shenfield Place, said: “A huge thank you to Tammy and all of her animals that came to connect with everyone at Old Shenfield Place, we had such a wonderful day.

“It really is amazing how much of a positive impact animals can have on us as humans, and it’s something that we hope to explore in the near future. It’s no wonder that they say dogs are man’s best friend!”