A passport to a safe and happy service

Anglicare’s Aged Care Services has launched a new program that has tongues and tails wagging.

“Many of our clients have pets in their home, including dogs,” explains General Manager Aged Care Services Ellen Nicholson.

“We found that some dogs were anxious around cleaning equipment, or boisterous enough to make it an unsafe environment for our staff. We previously had a requirement that all clients put their pet outside or in another room before our workers entered their home.

“Many of my team are loving dog-owners and they understand the importance of people being able to keep their dogs by their side. We asked workers and clients about how to find a balance between everyone’s needs. We then consulted with the RSPCA and the idea of a Pet Passport was born.”

Training Lead Renae Fleming has introduced the program with new clients when they begin receiving a home support service.

“We’ve trained our workers to assess the behaviour of each dog to check that they are safe to be around when we are in their owner’s home – and naturally this involves a test with a vacuum cleaner!” she said. “We’ve now started rolling the program out to existing clients and it’s all going very well. People are thrilled when we give them a passport with their pet’s name on it.”

Anglicare workers including Wendy describe the assessment sessions as “heart-warming”:

“The pet passports are changing people’s lives,” she says. “The excitement and happiness displayed when their best friends can stay inside is just gorgeous. I love being a part of this.”

A partnership with the RSPCA

The Pet Passport was introduced with the guidance of RSPCA Tasmania. The organisation provided the resources and assessment tools that underpin the new process.

“Anglicare understands the bond between humans and animals and its importance to the people receiving home support,” said CEO Andrea Dawkins.

“We thoroughly enjoyed meeting some of the Anglicare team and participants in the program, along with their furry family members.  We hope this inspires other community service providers to follow Anglicare’s lead.”

Planning for an emergency

Anglicare also works with clients to ensure that their pets are included in their emergency plans. If a person has to attend hospital unexpectedly or there is a natural disaster it’s important that they and their family members know how a pet will be cared for.

RSPCA Tasmania’s Ready Pet Go project includes video and printed resources that will assist people to prepare both themselves and their pets for an emergency.

More information

You can ring Anglicare’s Aged Care Services on 1800 466 300 and speak to a member of our team.

Click on the photos below for a closer look at passport-holders Misty, Bridget and Ned.