Special moments you don’t always see!

If you follow Furry Friends Animal Therapy on social media, you’ll see lots of photographs from our visits — smiling faces, cuddles with our animals and those little moments of connection that make what we do so special.

But there are also so many beautiful moments that you don’t see.

Some of the people we support are unable to give consent for their photographs to be shared publicly on social media. Their privacy, dignity and wellbeing will always come first, which means there are visits where we’re unable to share photographs of the people enjoying time with our animals.

That certainly doesn’t mean the memories aren’t being captured, though.

The wonderful care teams we work alongside often take plenty of photographs during our visits for the individuals themselves and their families to keep and treasure. These can become lovely reminders of a happy afternoon, a new experience or simply a peaceful moment spent stroking, cuddling or interacting with one of our animals.

And something we particularly love about our visits is that the animals don’t only bring joy to the people we’re there to support.

The staff absolutely love them too!

Those working within care settings give so much of themselves every day, and it’s always lovely watching them enjoy a cuddle, have a laugh or take a few minutes out of their busy day to spend time with the animals.

Sometimes the room completely changes when our animals arrive.

There are conversations, smiles, laughter, curiosity and plenty of “Can I have a cuddle too?” from staff members!

Animal-assisted visits have a wonderful way of bringing people together. Whether someone is receiving care, providing it, visiting a loved one or simply passing through the room, an animal can create an opportunity for connection that might not otherwise have happened.

So while social media gives you a little glimpse into the work we do, it will never show the whole story.

Some of our most precious moments will remain away from the camera and outside of social media — shared quietly between the people we support, their families, their care teams and our animals.