{"id":277054,"date":"2025-07-20T09:56:14","date_gmt":"2025-07-20T09:56:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/277054\/"},"modified":"2025-07-20T09:56:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-20T09:56:14","slug":"penguins-and-monkeys-bring-joy-to-bristol-care-home-residents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/277054\/","title":{"rendered":"Penguins and monkeys bring joy to Bristol care home residents"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>One resident said it was &#8216;magical&#8217;<a class=\"AuthorLink_author-link__rg5qj\" data-tmdatatrack=\"author\" data-testid=\"byline-author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bristolpost.co.uk\/authors\/pete-gavan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">Pete Gavan<\/strong><\/a> Senior Editor and <strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35 __className_9bd7fb\">SWNSFilipaGaspar (Filipa Gaspar)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>10:34, 20 Jul 2025<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0_SWNS_ANIMALS_CAREHOME_008_083513.jpg\" alt=\"A woman with a penguin\" loading=\"eager\"  \/>The penguins brought joy to the room<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Care home residents have been treated to a mood-boosting visit &#8211; from penguins and monkeys. Residents at Avon Valley Care Home in <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bristolpost.co.uk\/\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Bristol<\/a> were treated to an unforgettable experience this week as real penguins and monkeys paid a special visit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">The unique event gave residents the opportunity to interact with the animals up close, including holding, feeding, and stroking them throughout the day.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0_SWNS_ANIMALS_CAREHOME_007_083512.jpg\" alt=\"Two penguins&#10;\" loading=\"lazy\"  \/>The penguins take a look around<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">The visit proved a huge success, with every resident participating and even passersby stopping to witness the heartwarming scenes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Resident Grace Orchard, aged 102, said: &#8220;I cannot believe at my age I am still having such marvellous experiences. I held a penguin and a monkey.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Kath Ford described the day as &#8220;sensational&#8221;, while June Godden added it was &#8220;just magical&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Rachael Bridgeman, Home Manager at Avon Valley said: &#8220;This was such a wonderful opportunity for our residents to enjoy something truly unique and make new memories.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0_SWNS_ANIMALS_CAREHOME_003_083510.jpg\" alt=\"an old man with a penguin on his lap\" loading=\"lazy\"  \/>Residents got up close with the animals<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">&#8220;The residents are the heart of our home, and this has had such a positive impact on their well-being.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">&#8220;We continually strive to think outside the box to create innovative experiences. Just because we are a care home doesn&#8217;t mean we can&#8217;t have fun and live life to the full.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Animal-assisted activities like these are known to help reduce feelings of loneliness, lift moods, and provide valuable sensory stimulation.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0_SWNS_ANIMALS_CAREHOME_011_083519.jpg\" alt=\"An old woman with a monkey on her shoulder&#10;\" loading=\"lazy\"  \/>A monkey making a new friend<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">&#8220;The whole experience was truly heartwarming,&#8221; added Rachael.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">&#8220;To see every single resident with a smile on their face, joy in their eyes, and hear laughter throughout the corridors was a feeling no member of staff will ever forget.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">&#8220;It exceeded all our expectations and has created memories we will cherish forever.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One resident said it was &#8216;magical&#8217;Pete Gavan Senior Editor and SWNSFilipaGaspar (Filipa Gaspar) 10:34, 20 Jul 2025 The&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":277055,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8818],"tags":[381,748,393,548,4884,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-277054","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bristol","8":"tag-bristol","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-ford","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114884967576700057","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=277054"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277054\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/277055"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=277054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=277054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=277054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}