With the majority of our ‘business-as-usual’ operations currently on hold, we are constantly looking for different ways to help vulnerable people in our local community.

Last week, we were proud to be able to deliver boxes of essential personal protective equipment (PPE) to Westmead Care Home in Notting Hill, which is known to us through our animal assisted therapy programme, TheraPaws.

Although all TheraPaws visits are temporarily suspended, we are still in touch with representatives from the care homes, hospitals, hospices and mental health units we visit – and when Westmead mentioned they were running low on items like masks and gloves, we were pleased to be able to step in and help.

Our Animal Welfare Officers gathered together a surplus order of face masks that were originally destined to be spares for Mayhew Afghanistan, and some gloves belonging to our Community Vet Clinic here in London; and delivered them safely to Westmead – observing social distancing protocol.

With PPE currently in short supply across the country, we are trying to support our regular venues through any means possible.

We are also looking into the possibility of offering virtual TheraPaws sessions via a video link, for residents and patients who miss their weekly visits from their favourite furry friends – stay tuned for further updates!

You can read more about how we are adapting to the current situation on our Coronavirus homepage here.