Creepy Crawlies Visit Struan Lodge

ZooLab holds animal therapy sessions for a variety of people, from school children to those in care homes. They provide animal encounters which in turn can help support mental wellbeing as well as offer a stimulating and engaging experience.

Both our residents and staff were very excited when ZooLab brought in a variety of species, including rats, snakes, giant land snails, millipedes and not forgetting a very big spider! Everyone thoroughly enjoyed this as it was such a different experience to interact with these interesting animals and lots of our residents and staff were even brave enough to hold and pet them.

We often like to promote animal therapy to our residents, for the great benefits it can have on older people. The presence of animals help to relieve the symptoms and feelings associated with stress, anxiety, depression and loneliness. These stimulating interactions can also help to increase activity levels and boost the moods of our residents.

Throughout the session, residents got to speak with the animals handlers and learn more about the various animals that they had brought in. This led to residents and staff sharing their own experiences with these types of animals which was a fantastic form of reminiscence.

At Struan Lodge Care Home in Edinburgh, we go to great lengths to provide our residents with a variety of opportunities and an activities programme that supports their overall wellbeing. It is important to us that our residents always have something to look forward to, whether that's by continuing their existing hobbies, or by bringing them new interests to pursue.