Doggy Day Care at Uniting Mayflower

Moving house can be a strain on anyone, but for pooch Zach, it proved harder than most. The 11-year-old miniature Labradoodle struggled when owners Brad and Sandra Johnson moved from Canberra to Gerringong and he started getting up to mischief while his owners were at work.

“Our neighbours told us he spent most of his days howling and trying to dig under the fence to find new friends,” Sandra said. “So naturally we started to think about alternative arrangements for him.”

Sandra called the John and Helen Robinson dementia service at Uniting Mayflower in Gerringong and asked if the residents might like a regular visitor.

Luckily for the pup, the answer was a resounding ‘yes’ and now he spends three days a week being doted on by the residents of the dementia unit.

“I love having him here; it’s the best thing since sliced bread,” resident Stan Plachta, 91, said. “He takes everyone’s mind off their worries. We should adopt him because he is so loveable and clean too.”

Fellow resident Sandy McDonald, 74, agreed. “Just between you and me, I give him two of my biscuits, I wet them, and then give them to him,” she said.

And the residents are not the only fans of the new regime as Zach adores having multiple people to pat him every day. His owners are pleased about the arrangement.

“We’re so grateful to the staff and residents for looking after Zach,” Sandra said. “He loves it there and gets very excited. He comes home tired from playing all day and I don’t even need to feed him some evenings as he gets spoiled during the day with many treats.”

Find out more about Uniting.