Pet Therepy
Desert Cottages uses Pet Therapy to ensure that the social needs of our residents are met, specifically addressing lonliness, boredom, and helplessness, or the
"three plagues of long-term care."
Loneliness
Even though our residents interact with the same group of people day in and day out, those people may remain strangers due to the resident’s dementia. Pets make great companions, who give love and affection freely to all residents, including those residents who are withdrawn or isolated. At Desert Cottages, we provide “community” pets that are available for everyone’s interaction and enjoyment. We also encourage residents, if possible, to bring in their own pets from their home to live at Desert Cottages with them! At Desert Cottages many residents are able to combat their loneliness by bringing their own pet or by sharing the many community pets with all of the other residents.
Boredom
One of the reasons that pets have been incorporated into the Desert Cottages care plan is that they help to alleviate resident restlessness and boredom. Spontaneous opportunities for interaction with pets can keep residents entertained during "free times."
Helplessness
At Desert Cottages, we believe that having a quality life includes the ability to make choices and to have responsibilities that are meaningful and rewarding.
At Desert Cottages, we involve residents in the responsibility of the daily feeding and care of all of our community pets! Walking the dogs, feeding the cats, changing the litter boxes, pet grooming, are all resident responsibilities with assistance from all of our associates!
