A host of farmyard animals visited a care home to provide a fun, therapeutic activity for the residents to enjoy.

The special event which featured a range of small and large farm animals was organised to mark World Animal Day at Great Oaks, on Duck Lane, in Bournemouth, which is part of the Encore Care Homes family. The care home’s residents gathered the home’s garden to get up close to the pens which held a Shetland pony, goats, sheep, rabbits, and a chicken.

After scores of residents came outside to see the fluffy creatures, who had the opportunity to hold and stroke the animals, the chicken and a rabbit were brought inside the care home to visit the residents in the communal spaces and in their rooms.

Erin Butcher, Wellbeing Manager at Great Oaks, said: “It was lovely to see the residents’ faces light up as they stroked the sheep, cuddled a bunny, and held a chicken, which is not an everyday occurrence! Our residents often tell us how much they love animals and so we thought this would be the perfect way to mark World Animal Day. They have really been looking forward to this activity, so we are looking forward to organising some more similar experiences in the future.”

Each Encore Care Home features a dedicated onsite Wellbeing team which organises a daily programme of activities for the residents to enjoy and enable them to boost their mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing while socialising together. The activity calendars are tailored to the residents’ interests with special themed events organised to mark national awareness days.

Encore Care Homes is currently running a promotion for permanent bookings, which enables residential residents to receive two weeks of care for free to allow them to experience the facilities, home-cooked meals, and activities for themselves.

Encore Care Homes is welcoming new residents to receive residential care, with tours of the homes available, which involve enhanced Covid-safe measures for the benefit of residents, visitors, and the team. As well as Great Oaks in Bournemouth, the Encore family includes Fairmile Grange in Christchurch, Oakdale in Poole, and Hamble Heights in Fareham.

For more information about the care services available, go to Encorecarehomes.co.uk