Oxfordshire Care Home meet local penguins
Residents at Rosebank Care Home in Bampton were surprised with a visit to a zoo to see a colony of penguins
Rosebank Care Home recently paid a visit to Heythrop Zoological Gardens in Chipping Norton, where residents got to go and interact with penguins.
The residents and care staff couldn’t contain their excitement as they met the tuxedo-clad birds and had a great time feeding and petting them.
One resident at Rosebank said: “I’ve always been fascinated by penguins but never thought I’d have the chance to see them in person, let alone pet them!”
The penguins were kept under careful supervision of trained handlers and interacted with the residents in a safe and controlled environment.
Vanessa Lavender, home manager at Rosebank Care Home said: “We are thrilled to be able to offer this unique experience to our residents.
“Many of our residents have dreamed of seeing these wonderful creatures in person, and I’m sure this visit has brought them immense joy as they’ve made lifelong memories.”
Animal therapy and interacting with animals is considered to be one of the most widely beneficial practises for older people and those living with dementia.
The trip was organised by Tammie and Gemma from the lifestyle support team at Rosebank, who are always thinking of fun new trips and activities for residents.
Speaking about the penguins they said: "We've got a resident who loves animals and she's got a big canvas painting of a penguin and we've had them into the home a few years ago, but this time we thought it would be great to get out and see them as the residents love an outing.
"Animals and music seem to be the best things for dementia, so our aim is to see as many animals as we possibly can.
"There's still a part of us as we get older, even for those with dementia that wants to look after things and care for them, so it was a particularly therapeutic experience for them.
"It was great to see them in there own habitat and what's even better was getting to see the baby penguins as well!"