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Feels like she’s been transported back to her childhood: Ruth would like to keep the donkey Ticoeur.
Katja RichardEditor society
Carefully stroke her hands over the thick, gray fur, then Ruth’s (60) eyes get wet: “I have to think about my childhood. When I was six years old, I rode a donkey just like that. But he was much wilder, not so tender.” She looks lovingly at the donkey: “I would like to keep you.”
Ruth lives in the Bru retirement and nursing home in Grandson VD, a place for seniors and people with psychosocial or physical disabilities. Shortly before Christmas, Ruth and her roommates get a visit from Ticoeur and Pipo. The two donkeys are used to being grabbed by wrinkled hands. “But you have your own will, you don’t have to do anything,” says Florence Scheidegger (56). She regularly visits retirement and nursing homes within an hour’s drive at most, so that Pipo and Ticoeur don’t have to travel too far. The two donkeys fit particularly well. “They are rather small and used to dealing with very different people,” says Scheidegger. “Above all, they are not afraid of wheelchairs and walking sticks.”
A visit from the donkey Ticoeur causes emotions to run high in the retirement home: Ruth rode donkeys as a child.
The donkeys trigger emotions
It’s been four years since Scheidegger took Pipo to her father’s home. “When I first saw the emotions it triggered, it touched me so much that tears came to my eyes.” Why do donkeys have such an effect? “It’s this calm that they radiate,” she says. In addition, the donkeys have been socialized over the years. “Of course, the character also plays a role. Not every donkey is suitable for this.”
Before the encounter between humans and animals begins, the donkeys are put on their «work uniform», a harness with a wooden saddle with cross braces to attach saddlebags or to place a child on it. “Someone who is not so good on their feet can hold on to it,” explains Scheidegger. But this uniform is also important for the donkeys, so that they know that the mission is about to begin: “They adapt when they are near weakened people, i.e. old or disabled or small children. Donkeys always know who they’re dealing with.” Outside of such groups of people, they are more idiosyncratic, according to the owner: “With me, they use every distraction to eat.”
She regularly visits a nursing home with her donkeys: Florence Scheidegger.
Stoic patience has its limits
Around twenty residents have gathered outside to receive the four-legged visitor. Some observe what is happening from a distance, then suddenly there is only a bell made of longing hands and soft fur. “In the beginning we tried to structure it more, but I prefer to adapt to the situation,” says Scheidegger. However, the stoic patience of the donkeys has its limits. After an hour at the latest it is enough, then the animals move to the small meadow to graze until they go home again in the transporter.
One person who is particularly touched by the animals’ visit is Raphaël (60). As luck would have it, the resident of the home celebrates his milestone birthday on this day. There couldn’t be a nicer gift for him. “It’s been 15 years since I pet an animal like that,” he says quietly. With him, too, the emotions overflow with the eye water. He tells that he used to live on a farm and how much he misses the connection to animals.
Fabienne Häberli works for the Swiss Animal Protection STS for the “Grizzly” project, the aim is to integrate more animals into old people’s homes.
Contact with animals opens the heart
Are there no permanent four-legged residents in the home? “We have a cat,” says Michaël Schöpf (48), who heads the “accompaniment” department in the home. “But she does what she wants.” Our own cinema and garden, where our own vegetables are grown, as well as various workshops ensure sociability in everyday life. It is the first time that an animal visit is coming, this is organized as part of the “Grizzly” project of the Swiss Animal Protection (STS). “We are in different retirement and nursing homes about every two weeks,” says Fabienne Häberli (42), the person responsible. In addition to donkeys, dogs and alpacas are also used.
Regular contact with animals is extremely valuable and helpful for older people, especially for those affected by dementia or Alzheimer’s patients. Häberli: “They usually respond very well to it and can often open up better to an animal than to their fellow human beings.” It is therefore also important that older people can take their pets with them into the home whenever possible. According to a survey by the STS, 83 percent of retirement and nursing homes are willing to take in the animal roommates. Cats are the most popular, followed by fish, dogs and birds. Häberli: “With your own pet, you also bring a piece of your own home with you. This is an emotional support for the elderly. The animals are good for the heart, ensure closeness and give structure to everyday life.»
“Donkeys offer the largest possible cuddling area”
We asked Bettina Mutschler (54) from Ani.Motion, coach for animal-assisted therapy.
SonntagsBlick: Maria and Josef used to have donkeys in the manger, what makes the animals so special?
Bettina Mutschler: Donkeys are headstrong and at the same time very social. In the herd they are close together, but there are no hierarchies. So there is no boss who decides, but every animal in the herd is the same. It’s different than with dogs or horses, I have to play the boss, you can’t do that with donkeys.
Why are such stubborn animals suitable for therapy?
Because they are honest in their reaction. When a donkey comes by itself and lets you pet it, it feels particularly real for the patient, you are recognized and seen. And for a visit to a retirement home, donkeys offer the largest possible cuddling area. They are not skittish like horses because they are so deeply relaxed and calm. That carries over, and that’s why people aren’t afraid of them.
Why is it good to touch animals?
In the nursing home, people are constantly cared for and in a dependent role – very different from all their years of life before. When they pet or feed animals, they can give and are self-efficacy. In addition, oxytocin is released when caressed, the cuddle hormone reduces stress.
What’s different about it than cuddling with people?
In our society, you usually only cuddle as a couple, but especially in old age there is often a lack of a partner. In this context, touch is often sexualized. There is something innocent about an animal, you can cuddle with it uncontrollably – if it wants to. Interview: Katja Richard
Bettina Mutschler from Ani.Motion is a coach for animal-assisted therapy.
Zvg
We asked Bettina Mutschler (54) from Ani.Motion, coach for animal-assisted therapy.
SonntagsBlick: Maria and Josef used to have donkeys in the manger, what makes the animals so special?
Bettina Mutschler: Donkeys are headstrong and at the same time very social. In the herd they are close together, but there are no hierarchies. So there is no boss who decides, but every animal in the herd is the same. It’s different than with dogs or horses, I have to play the boss, you can’t do that with donkeys.
Why are such stubborn animals suitable for therapy?
Because they are honest in their reaction. When a donkey comes by itself and lets you pet it, it feels particularly real for the patient, you are recognized and seen. And for a visit to a retirement home, donkeys offer the largest possible cuddling area. They are not skittish like horses because they are so deeply relaxed and calm. That carries over, and that’s why people aren’t afraid of them.
Why is it good to touch animals?
In the nursing home, people are constantly cared for and in a dependent role – very different from all their years of life before. When they pet or feed animals, they can give and are self-efficacy. In addition, oxytocin is released when caressed, the cuddle hormone reduces stress.
What’s different about it than cuddling with people?
In our society, you usually only cuddle as a couple, but especially in old age there is often a lack of a partner. In this context, touch is often sexualized. There is something innocent about an animal, you can cuddle with it uncontrollably – if it wants to. Interview: Katja Richard