Baldrick visits a number of homes and meets with a wide range of residents, some of whom may be dealing with dementia, or a brain injury, or are in their senior years.
Many have had a pet that they have had to leave behind and are glad to stroke and connect with a cat again.
Baldrick meets people in the care homes community setting, interacts with individuals, and also visits the rooms of those confined to their beds.
Baldrick is usually a bit shy when he visits a home he hasn’t been to before, but after a couple of visits, he can often be found lying on his back and purring!
During the Covid lockdown, he only interacted with people already in his bubble and I wasn’t sure how he would be when he started going out and visiting care homes.
There is quite a lot of research about how a therapy animal can help people, but not very much on how it impacts the animal.
What I've noticed is that since he started his visits earlier this year his alertness and curiosity have improved and he plays with his toys more.
