Visits from a four-legged friend can make a big difference to the wellbeing of those in need.

Pets Aid Therapy BOP is a registered charitable foundation dedicated to enhancing lives by spreading the love and transformative magic of animals to those who could use a little extra happiness,” says founder Helen Davies.

PAT offers essential services by bringing animals to kindergartens, schools, care homes and dementia wards to provide animal-assisted sessions to those with special needs.

“We specialise in arranging visits for individuals or groups, such as residents of rest homes, inquisitive kindergartens, enthusiastic primary school students, or special needs groups,” says Helen who has seen a lot in her career while working with animals.

From working with guide dogs and police dogs and being a SPCA inspector plus working at stables all over the world, Helen’s

Pets Aid Therapy visits special needs groups. Photo supplied

knowledge and experience led her to the idea of creating this charity back in 2018.

She says when Covid hit it knocked everything over.

“It’s kind of all been on the back burner for the last few years. It’s coming along leaps and bounds just this last year. We are looking to open to the public come spring and have it all established so that we can have special needs people here.”

Helen says she has seen a lot, particularly in the dementia units where clients who haven’t spoken in years suddenly speak, some even sing.

“The caregivers bring them out, they get them to put their hands often on a donkey or a pony and suddenly the people start to speak. I was at one particular situation where the lady started to sing, and the caregivers were all in tears because they said she hadn’t made a sound for three years.”

Helen says animals can do incredible things. “Probably my favourite animals at present doing what we do are the donkeys. I find them absolutely amazing.”

Donkeys are a part of the equine family, she says, “There’s all this science about equines and how they are very susceptible to human emotion.

Pets Aid Therapy often visit kindergartens. Photo supplied.

“If you’re stressed or happy, animals usually will sense that and will react accordingly.

“What we find is that they just quietly spend time, and they slow down. It slows their heart rate, it slows their breathing, slows the whole nervous system.”

The charity has received endless positive reviews for its impactful work.

Helen says the parents say the charity has an outstanding impact. “They usually say we wish you could come every day.

“We go to the special needs school in Tauranga. I try to get there about four times a year. They said they would love me to visit every week if it was possible. Financially it’s not possible.

“We are low on volunteers, and we do desperately need more volunteers, particularly adults.”

Helen says some of the situations they face can be full-on and emotional and it is sometimes unsuitable for child volunteers.

She shares a story of her “lovely chicken lady”, a lady from a dementia care unit who was deeply fond of chickens even when she became confined to her bed.-bound.

The "lovely chicken lady". Photo supplied

“When I started visiting, she was able to be brought out in a wheelchair and spend time with the animals. She got to the point where she was so incapacitated, she couldn’t come out. She was basically bed-bound and her love was chickens. So, I had my little chicken ‘Princess’ and Princess used to go and visit her in her bed each time we visited. The caregivers said it was the absolute highlight of her year, they said she asks every day, ‘When is Princess coming to visit me again?’

“That was really special. She’s passed on now unfortunately, my lovely chicken lady.”

Helen is amazed by the impact animals can have on people in need.

To anyone wanting to get involved Helen says, “Just come along and have a look at what we do and experience it for yourself.”

Recently, the organisation suffered a huge loss that would impact their ability to feed their animals.

“We discovered that the shipping container we purchased just a few months ago has developed leaks in the roof.

“As a result, the hay we had stored to get through the winter is now destroyed and mouldy.

“This has been a significant setback for us, but we are determined to overcome this challenge with the help of our community and supporters.

“Any volunteers that are keen, come along and just have a look and experience it for yourself.

“We are always looking for volunteers who share our passion for animal-assisted sessions and want to help us continue making a positive impact.”