Time flies when you're having a 'paw-some' time

At Friends of the Elderly’s Luton-based Little Bramingham Farm residential care home, the resident’s regular, cute four-legged friend – Winnie – has had a ‘woofi-ful’ day celebrating her second anniversary of visiting the care home.

Winnie – who is lovingly known to the residents as ‘Winnie The Pooch’ – is an adorable Blue Roan coated Cockapoo. Winnie is a qualified Pets As Therapy (PAT) Dog, which means she has gone through an assessment and passed a temperament test, is good in crowded places, doesn’t react to sudden noises and is well-behaved around strangers. “Winnie is so calm, friendly and loves being fussed, so she’s a ‘paw-fect’ fit for Little Bramingham Farm and our residents,” said Emma Lawrance, the care home’s Registered Manager.

Winnie spends every Monday morning with the Little Bramingham Farm residents enjoying lots of fun games, the occasional treat and plenty of cuddles. “To celebrate Winnie’s second anniversary – which is a significant milestone – we wanted to do something special,” added Karen Charity, Little Bramingham Farm’s Activities Coordinator. “The traditional gift for a second anniversary is cotton, so the closest thing I could find was a material play mat. We gave Winnie her present with a bag of treats and she had an absolutely great time sniffing them out of their hiding places in the mat’s compartments. The residents were cheering her on and clapped when she found each treat.”

Winnie’s owner, Martin Rodker said: “Winnie is such a loveable dog with a cheeky character and a caring and kind personality. On her anniversary, she loved all the attention, not only from finding her treats in her present, but playing games, doing her usual tricks and snuggling up to the residents for cuddles.”

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“Winnie has now perfected her Nose Balancing trick,” continued Martin. “She’s mastered how to sit still and balance a treat on her nose until I say “go on then”. Winnie then does a cute nose flip and catches the treat in her mouth – the residents love to see her do this.”

Winnie is a creature of habit and her weekly routine at the care home doesn’t change. Once she’s had fun in the Lounge with the residents, she’ll make her weekly rounds to visit the other residents in their rooms. However, on her second anniversary, Winnie made sure that she took her new play mat with her so that everyone could see her present. . “Winnie was overjoyed with her present,” added Martin. “She makes sure we play it each day at home too. Mind you, I keep a close eye on how many treats Winnie has each day as I won’t let her over do it.”

“Winnie’s weekly visits have a wonderful, positive impact on our residents,” continued Emma. “They light up as soon as Winnie arrives. With her puppy dog eyes, her non-stop wagging tail and adorable face, she has the residents wound around her paws.”

“Winnie is a much-loved member of the Little Bramingham Farm family. It’s said that if you scratch and cuddle a dog, you’ll find a permanent job. It must be true as all our residents definitely have permanent, fun and enjoyable jobs on a Monday with Winnie,” concluded Karen.