Charity donation funds dog visits to lonely elderly and vulnerable people
Lonely elderly and vulnerable people in the North East are receiving some joy from wagging tails and chin wags, thanks to a generous donation.
The operator of the Tyne Tunnels, TT2, has donated £2,500 from its community fund to pay for visits from dogs and their owners to older dog-lovers in their own homes and vulnerable people in care or hospitals.
The money given to charity Wag & Company will enable either 186 home visits to isolated elderly dog lovers or 1,674 visits to vulnerable people in care or hospital.
Wag & Co. connect volunteers and their pet dogs with elderly or vulnerable people who often have failing health or are bereaved or isolated. The visits give people something to look forward to, where they get human company for a chat, and cuddles from a furry friend.
Diane Morton, founder and chair of Wag & Company, said: “Loneliness can damage your physical, as well as your mental health and we know from feedback from the people we visit that the cuddles with our dogs and interaction with their owners make a huge difference to their wellbeing.
“We rely on donations to enable the life-changing work that we do so we are very grateful to TT2 for the support.”
TT2’s CEO, Adrian Wallace, said: “When we heard about what Wag & Co. do, they were an obvious choice to support with our community fund.
"Dogs are proven to reduce stress, anxiety, depression and ease loneliness – it’s such a brilliant idea to have more people benefit from dogs.”