Heritage Woods of Ottawa recently hosted a very successful doggie date night! Multiple staff members volunteered their time to bring in their dogs for the residents to meet and interact with. It was a very smiley and sweet event to witness our residents petting and giving treats to cute dogs. There were bulldogs, a golden retriever, a chihuahua named Midgie, a German shepherd, and multiple others!
Emotional benefits of pet therapy for seniors include increased self-esteem and confidence, improved social skills, reduced risk of depression, lessened levels of anxiety, reduced feelings of loneliness, and an increase in the ability to show gentleness and caring. We witnessed all of these during our doggie visit! Many new residents ventured out to meet the dogs as well as a few new neighbors. Our senior population at Heritage Woods of Ottawa has many animal lovers living in it, and they really enjoy the events we host with animals involved. Many residents asked if we could have more doggie date nights and were assured that we would be having more.
Being around animals makes people feel better, healthier, and happier. A few of our residents even own pets here at Heritage Woods; we have multiple cats who are community residents and roommates! Heritage Woods of Ottawa is proud to be a pet-friendly assisted living community!
