Three dogs from our ground breaking TheraPaws programme have been along to a social gathering to help people with dementia unlock their treasures memories. TheraPaws pets regularly visit sixteen care homes and special outreach events to offer much needed support to dementia sufferers and their relatives.

They also help people in palliative care. Labradoodles Max and Wally, and Lulu a miniature daschund, were in their element as they rubbed noses with their delighted admirers.

Luke Berman, TheraPaws Coordinator, said: “I am really excited to be working in partnership with Age UK, a fantastic charity helping the elderly. As we walked in people immediately stopped talking and looked at the animals. It was a terrific day getting to know so many different people.”

Tracey Hayes, whose mum has dementia, added: “It’s so good to see the dogs helping people. It’s such a loving nurturing thing to do and it helps them to remember their own pets. It really works 100 per cent.”

Kate Moffat from Age UK enthused: “We are so grateful to charities like The Mayhew for their free service. It’s wonderful. Most of these people would never have a chance to interact with pets as they’re socially isolated, frail, or get lost very easily. TheraPaws is a great project.”

Volunteer Flick Thorley, who brought in the three dogs, commented: “It was fab, I really enjoyed it. People started talking about their childhood pets. It was fascinating to see.”