practical living
What sorts of things do you look for when picking volunteers? Obviously, we’ re needing someone who enjoys being in the company of animals, but also we need to make sure that we can match them with the person that they’ re visiting as well. There’ s a social benefit as well. We want volunteers that are happy to go into someone else’ s home, not judge anybody by the way they’ re living or the way they’ re managing their lives, and be able to bring something positive to that person in their life and help them with their animal care.
Who are the ideal clients for the project? Some of our clients have had different reasons for needing services. We’ ve had people who obviously have some physical restrictions that mean that they’ re not able to walk long distances with their animal anymore, or they had a temporary health change and aren’ t able to get out and about. We’ ve also had some carers of people who are not finding the time to walk their dog as well as care for the person they’ re caring for in the home. There’ s a variety of reasons. Sometimes, it’ s just age, not able to get out and about as easily as before, but often, there’ s a medical restriction that’ s preventing them from getting out.
Being able to maintain a relationship with their companion animal and know that they’ re healthy and looked after is an obvious benefit, but what are some of the broader implications of the project? It’ s been a fantastic thing to support people actually having a visitor in their home that perhaps might not have let someone into their property. We have had a few instances where people have not ever had services or even are not very socially connected, so having someone visit them regularly has been a really positive thing as well, and they’ re doing it because it’ s for the pet. They’ re not thinking about their own social need, but it’ s a side benefit of it, so that’ s been a really good thing.
Obviously, helping people maintain their relationship with their pet means that they’ re getting all those health benefits, and studies have proven that there are many health benefits to having a dog. So, for a lot of people who are on their own, keeping the relationship with their animal is very important.
What sort of feedback have you received from people involved? We have sent out a survey to all the people that were involved in the pilot project, which ran for 12 months, and we had some really good and very positive feedback about the project, plus some lovely comments about how they would like to have more service. Obviously, people always want to have a little bit more and we’ re trying to do our best to meet people’ s needs.
We’ ve had some anecdotal information from owners about their dogs improving with their health and being calmer when they’ re at home. We’ ve also had some lovely stories with the volunteers enjoying the opportunity to have a relationship with an animal that might’ ve ceased in their own lives, but they’ ve now actually been able to go and visit somebody else with a dog as well. There have been some lovely outcomes.
What does the future hold for the Companion Animal Project? We’ re doing really well. We’ re still going along very nicely. It’ s two years down the track now. We did a 12-month pilot and it’ s continued after that pilot with a lot of support from council. We’ ve met with a variety of councils now within the metropolitan region and spoken to some regional councils as well about the opportunity for them to think about starting a project.
We’ ve developed with OFTA [ SA Office for the Ageing ] funding and Mary-Rose another project we just initiated. A kit’ s being created which will be available soon on the RSPCA page for other councils or agencies to consider if they wanted to set up their own project. All the findings and some of the tools and the benefits and things that we’ ve found from doing the project should be available in that kit.
We’ ve also started a‘ home alone’ card for people to have in their wallets so that if something happens to them or they’ re taken to hospital, someone knows there’ s a pet at home on their own and might need a bit of support.
So lots of little things have come out of this project. We’ ve done some work with the animal management team here at council with some barking dogs and things that have become a bit of a nuisance for community, but with a bit of extra exercise for the dogs, some of these things have ceased. Not all the time, but just that little bit of extra exercise of the animals actually
helped as well. So there’ s been lots of little side benefits that have come out of this.
What would you say to other councils interested in setting up a similar project? I think it’ s a lovely project to be involved with. Personally, I’ ve had a lot of satisfaction. I know my team have enjoyed it as well. It’ s easy enough to do if you can get support from council.
Also, having input from a variety of teams within the council region is important. We’ ve got an animal management team involved. We have a volunteer coordinator involved who helps us to make sure the volunteers are suitable and we do all the screenings.
We also have training for our volunteers to make sure they get the skills they need and feel comfortable walking somebody else’ s animal. We’ ve looked at the risk. Obviously, risk is a huge thing that council have to negate, but we’ ve really gone along and looked at the benefit of the project and how that actually assists people in their homes and we’ re really very happy with the program. ■ agedcareinsite. com. au 19