MARATHON — Say hello to your furry friends.
The Peninsula Manor is inviting residents from the Marathon area with friendly pets such as dogs or cats to bring their pets to the manor periodically throughout the summer to visit and spend time with the tenants.
Lorelle Sgro, community services manager at Peninsula Manor, described the invitation as a pilot project.
“I’ve had it in the back of my mind for awhile . . . Just kind of help brighten (tenants) spirits – something fun for them to do.
“A couple of people were really struggling and we thought, ‘let’s try something different here.’”
Sgro added staff have previously brought in their pets over the years for the enjoyment of the tenants but this is the first time they’ve opened the invitation to members of the public.
She also said that while there are a lot of fun activities going on at Peninsula Manor, having some friendly pets in to spend time with tenants always offers a nice change of pace.
“Sometimes people interaction just doesn’t do it anymore. Sometimes you need a furry friend – so we wanted to outreach to the community,” she said.
“We just want to let (the tenants) have the opportunity to make more connections that way because, sometimes, they might be a little bit on the frail side where they can’t care of a pet anymore or maybe they used to have an animal and they would have loved to have one (now) but it’s a lot of work for them.
“Getting to do this for them is huge.”
Sgro said the response from community members has been overwhelmingly positive.
With so many people already showing interest, Sgro said she’s been putting together a schedule to make the process as smooth as possible – splitting the project into two types of visits: open visits in the common area for all tenants to enjoy and more private, one-on-one visits for individual tenants who need a quieter environment to enjoy the experience.
“We’re going to do a little bit of both which we’re excited about. Everyone is pretty excited to get it going,” she said.
If all goes well, Sgro said the hope is to continue the project into the winter months.
For more information or to volunteer your time, contact Sgro at 807-229-1740 ext. 278.