Program a win-win for animals, seniors

Delta Animal Shelter photo A resident of Lakeview Assisted Living holds a kitten from the Delta Animal Shelter during the Senior Snuggles program at the facility in Gladstone in June 2019. When young animals are at the shelter, shelter staff and volunteers visit assisted living facilities each month with animals. The program provides a benefit to both the residents and the animals.
ESCANABA — The Delta Animal Shelter’s Senior Snuggle program has benefited both local assisted living facility residents and shelter animals since its inception a year and a half ago.
Through the program, shelter animals are brought to senior facilities throughout the area to interact with residents, according to Tonya Gartland, event coordinator at the shelter. Residents get to hold the animals and bond with them.
According to Delta Animal Shelter Director Sue Gartland, the program is a way to give back to the community for its tremendous community support.
“We’re a relatively young organization — only around eight years — and the community really backed our dream to save all the animals and supported us,” Sue said. “Now we’re looking at ways that we can give back to this community, and this program is one of those ways.”
She explained the staff and volunteers at the shelter look forward to the visits as much as the residents look forward to the arrival of the pets.
“It’s a testament to the human-animal bond and the joy it can bring,” Sue said.
The program benefits both the residents and animals.
According to Sue, the program is a win-win for both the animals and the residents, noting the importance of socialization.
Tonya added the program creates socialized pets and has a positive impact on the residents by bringing them joy.
She said activity directors from various facilities have told them how residents talk about the visits for days and how excited residents get when the pets are coming for a visit.
Tonya came up with the idea for the program after witnessing heartbreaking surrenders of pets by people needing to move into assisted living facilities.
“You could just see the hope that they lost because they had to give their pets away to go into those facilities,” Tonya said. “So, that sparked the idea of bringing pets to them.”
It started with the shelter bringing animals to Bishop Noa Home and North Woods Place a year and a half ago. Now, the program includes nine facilities.
Not only has the program expanded, but attendance for the visits has increased, as well.
According to Sue, when the program first began there were a couple residents that came out to interact with the pets, but now the response has been overwhelming.
She added if residents don’t want to participate in the group activity, the shelter brings an animal to the resident’s room during the visit.
“We’re so thankful that the seniors have accepted and love this program, and that the homes keep inviting us back,” Sue said. “It’s so wonderful for our animals and you can just see the happiness that it brings to the people. And that’s a beautiful thing.”
Shelter volunteers and animals spend about an hour at each facility.
Tonya noted they try to visit the nine facilities every month, however, it is very dependent on the animals at the shelter.
If there are no younger animals in need of socialization, then it can be difficult setting up visits, she explained.
Tonya organizes the “day out” of the shelter for the animals, however it is also heavily reliant on volunteers.
Tonya figures out the logistics of every trip, but volunteers help by transporting the animals to the homes and facilities, and also by spending time there with the animals and residents.
People can contact the animal shelter at 906-789-0230 if they are interested in volunteering to help with the Senior Snuggles program.
“We’re always looking for volunteers to help with the program,” she said.