Hello.

ginnypants:

Guinea pig therapy for blind nursing home residents

Activity sessions with Cheeky and Thomas have now become a regular therapy at Braeside House in Edinburgh, which is home to 70 blind and visually impaired older people. Sessions with the pets, which live in a pen on the roof of the home have made a huge difference to residents at the home - where the average age is 92.

Linda Mason from the home’s activities team says: “We have a lot of residents with severe dementia and all of them are partially sighted. It is really wonderful to see the smiles on their faces when they hold the guinea pigs. It seems to relax people, make them feel secure and to take their minds off loneliness and grief. A lot of them have had dogs and cats - but we can’t really have a cat in here because they might turn round and scratch you. Cheeky and Thomas seem to enjoy it as well. They are very happy to sit and be held by the residents and they get spoiled rotten by all the staff.”

(via quiethouses)