IT IS hard to describe the connection that people have with animals using mere words, Jason Peters says.
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Residents at Bendigo's Mercy Health Bethlehem Home for the Aged wanted a bit of time with some furry friends on Tuesday and the Animals 2U Mobile Animal Farm owner was on hand with a menagerie of barnyard animals.
"There's a unity between animals and humans, I believe ... We have a lot of animal lovers here today and they bond with the animals straight away,' Mr Peters said.
The joy of spending time with animals can be be profound, Mercy Health lifestyle coordinator Kylie Paxton said.
"We had a lady this morning sit out here for two hours and would not go back to her room - she never leaves her room," Ms Paxton said.
"She said that she felt like there had been something missing. Now she knows what it is. She is missing her cat."
Cats were not the only animals to visit. Barnyard animals like ponies, geese, chickens and lambs, dogs, and a rat were among those to drop by.
Many of Mercy Health's residents had spent their childhoods or working lives on farms, Ms Paxton said.
Others just loved animals.
"It's the variety of it, and that it is something different," Ms Paxton said
Graeme Martin was one of those people who dropped by.
The resident of three months chose Mercy Health Bethlehem specifically because of its regular programs with animals.
His wife Barbara liked that the could bring the couple's dog in from home whenever she liked.
Ms Paxton said the main goal for the day was to help residents keep their minds off any ailments they faced.
They regularly noticed physical benefits to animals visiting, but often it was the mental improvements that were most marked, she said.
Staff often noticed people with dementia's "heightened behavior" - like wandering, being agitated or nor able to settle - could be alleviated by spending some time with pets, Ms Paxton said said.
Animals had the ability to help keep residents motivated and to deal with mental health challenges like depression - something that could be an issue for many people living in aged care facilities, she said.
"We are very mindful of that. That's why we have programs and activities - and why we keep a record of who attends what, so we can target the residents who aren't (attending)," Ms Paxton said.
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