A canine skilled to assist folks with dementia is looking for a brand new household it might help.
The Dementia Dog venture is hoping to match a young Labrador with somebody who’s at a gentle stage of dementia and dwelling at home with a full-time unpaid carer in larger Glasgow.
The collaboration between two charities – Alzheimer Scotland and Dogs for Good – has existed for a decade and goals to carry pleasure and firm for folks affected by dementia, in addition to boosting confidence and independence.
Dementia help dogs are extremely skilled and capable of assist their household with duties akin to fetching medicine or reminding their proprietor to finish their each day routine – and organisers hope to place one with a household this spring.
The dogs stay at home as a relentless companion, and create a way of function and playfulness.
But additionally they have full public access rights, in contrast to pet dogs, to offer reassurance and help in busy and unfamiliar environments.
It would be the tenth time the venture staff has placed a canine in a Scottish home because the scheme was launched 10 years in the past.
Some have gone onto retrain as “activity dogs” in Alzheimer Scotland’s Dementia Resource Centres and locally the place they participate in a spread of occasions akin to doggy bingo – the place dogs “call out” the numbers – in addition to scavenger hunts and art-themed classes.
Black Labrador Lenny, who was matched with Jon and Jeannette King, of Dunbar, East Lothian, is now an “activity dog”, almost six years after he was matched with the couple in August 2018.
Lenny introduced pleasure to the couple’s lives earlier than Mr King handed away in January 2021, having been identified with dementia in August 2016.
He now takes half in group occasions, as Mrs King wished to share the canine’s uncommon skillset with different households who’ve been hit by dementia, which impacts greater than 90,000 folks in Scotland.
Mrs King stated: “It wasn’t a lot the practical issues that Lenny did for Jon – it was the sunshine he introduced into our lives as we launched into this new expertise collectively. Lenny made us giggle and smile, offering companionship and luxury when Jon was alone or feeling low.
“Friends commented on how sociable Jon had become after years of preferring solitude. Those years were filled with unexpected happiness, instead of the downward spiral we’d dreaded.”
She added: “Lenny is ready and able to bring pleasure to people living with dementia – I see it as a very small way of giving thanks for the blessings Dementia Dogs gave us.”
Lenny isn’t the canine looking for a brand new household it might help. That canine is a young newly skilled Labrador.
Project staff dementia specialist Nadia Sutherland stated: “It’s wonderful to see the distinction these dogs could make for households.
“If you love dogs and meet our criteria, we’d love you to get in touch.”
The venture staff additionally gives workshops for households affected by dementia with possession of pet dogs, and to assist folks with dementia obtain particular objectives by way of a structured programme.
People can apply on the Dementia Dog web site. Interested households also can discover out extra at an open data session in Alzheimer Scotland’s Glasgow workplace on February 14 from 10.30am-3pm.
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