They had been expecting to see Elvis but Star the donkey from the Elizabeth Svendsen Trust more than made up for the residents’ disappointment, when it was announced that Elvis the donkey was unfortunately ill and his understudy Star more than lived up to his name, when he visited the residents at Coton Hill House care home in Shrewsbury.
 
It’s not every day that a super star visits Coton Hill House operated by Coverage Care and Star certainly knew how to work the room. He made friends with all the residents in turn, and his handler Louise Howell said: “He likes visiting care homes and meeting the residents as a change from his normal job of providing rides for children at the special needs riding centre run by The Elizabeth Svendsen Trust at Sutton Coldfield”.
 
Senior Carer at Coton Hill House, Becky Roberts said; “It is good for the residents to have contact with animals and stroking them is well known for being therapeutic. We also have two guinea pigs, Harry and William at the home, and a Cockatiel called Nip.”
 
Coton Hill House is a residential care home for older people on Berwick Road in Shrewsbury with 45 rooms and a large day centre. The events are planned by Emma Jones and include everything from quiz nights to church services. The next social event is for Halloween with most of the decorations being made by the residents and day centre guests.
 
Deputy Manager Mandy Phillips added: “there is a real sense of community in the home and having people visiting the day centre for different activities makes living here much more interesting for all of us, residents and staff alike.
 
Coton Hill House is one of 15 care centres operated by Coverage Care, the largest independent care company in Shropshire operating on a not for profit basis. Coverage Care employs 670 staff with responsibility for the care of over 1600 older people, many living in the outlying towns and villages in the county.