Residents from Coverage Care’s Innage Grange residential home in Bridgnorth were introduced to a very special guest this week; Elvis the Donkey.
Nineteen-year-old Elvis came to visit from the Elisabeth Svendsen Trust based in Sutton Coldfield. The donkeys regularly visit care homes around the West Midlands offering adult therapy.

Manager Pauline Tremellen said, “This is a wonderful opportunity for all the residents at the home. At Innage Grange we have two units for people with dementia and the rhythmic stroking of an animal as gentle as a donkey puts the person at ease and builds a bond between them.”

Donkeys are natural companions and the relationship and therapeutic bond they form is invaluable for children with disabilities and for the elderly.

Carer Sam Griffiths said, “It’s a lovely surprise for all the residents they very rarely have the chance to interact with animals especially a donkey! Its May’s 99th birthday on the 5th of August so it’s an early birthday present for her.”
 
Pauline concluded,” Today has been such a success. All the residents at Innage Grange have enjoyed seeing Elvis and decided that they want to sponsor one of the donkeys from the Elisabeth Svendsen Trust which means we can all benefit from regular visits.”

All the donkeys from the Trust enjoy human contact and are gentle and placid. There are a total of 21 donkeys at the Sutton Coldfield trust with other centres all around the country including Devon, Birmingham, Leeds, and Manchester helping over 2,000 donkeys.