"Peace
of mind and
practical help
for people - love, care and safety for pets"
Companion
animals and the elderly
It
is widely acknowledged that pets can positively benefit the well-being
of elderly owners. For many elderly people living on their own,
their pets are their reason for living.
They are constant companions - on hand 24 hours a day, every day,
comforting, loving and protecting their owners - not only from
outside threats, but also offering the more subtle form of protection
from loneliness and despair.
Pets are warm and intensely loyal. They do not
criticise, they boost morale, they help reduce stress by providing
emotional security, and they help to provide a fixed routine.
Pets have the ability to bring happiness and laughter and lift
depression. Communication with other people is often easier when
a pet is present for reassurance.
The
special relationship between owner and pet adds incalculably to
the quality of life, but all the pleasures and benefits can be completely
neutralised by intense anxiety regarding the fate of their devoted
companion should the owner die, fall ill, or have to move to residential
accommodation. If an ‘old faithful’ dies, elderly owners
are often very reluctant to have another pet for these reasons,
and life for them loses much of its warmth, light and purpose.
What is the Cinnamon Trust?
Cinnamon Trust is the only specialist
national charity which seeks to relieve the anxieties, problems,
and sometimes injustices, faced by elderly and terminally ill people
and their pets, thereby saving a great deal of human sadness and
animal suffering. The Trust was founded in 1985 by Mrs Averil Jarvis
whose determination and dedication has ensured that the manifest
need is fully addressed.
...
and why Cinnamon?
Just
as Mrs Jarvis was starting her work to develop the charity, her
beloved Corgi, Cinnamon, died in her 17th year. It seemed appropriate
to name the Trust in her memory.
Who benefits?
The Cinnamon Trust was founded for
elderly people and their pets, but its services are also offered
to terminally ill pet owners, for they, sadly, and often prematurely,
are faced with the same worries and fears as elderly pet owners.
Anyone of any age can make arrangements for pets that may outlive
them to come into the Trust’s care.
What does the Cinnamon Trust do?
The
Trust’s primary objective is to respect and preserve the treasured
relationship between owners and their pets. To this end it works
in partnership with owners to overcome any difficulties that might
arise. A national network of over 10,000 community service volunteers
has been established to provide practical help when any aspect of
day to day care poses a problem - for example, walking the dog for
a housebound owner. A national fostering service is provided for
pets whose owners face a spell in hospital - volunteers take pets
into their own homes and supply love and care in abundance until
owner and pet can be reunited.
Cinnamon Trust also provides long term care for pets whose owners
have died or moved to residential accommodation which will not accept
pets. Arrangements are made between owners and the Trust well in
advance, if possible, so owners do have peace of mind in the knowledge
that their beloved companion will have a safe and happy future.
Emergency cards are available on request.
When a pet is in the Trust’s care either short term or long
term because the owner is in care, the owner is kept in touch with
visits, if possible, or regular photos and letters.
own,
their pets are their reason for living.
The
special relationship between owner and pet adds incalculably to
the quality of life, but all the pleasures and benefits can be completely
neutralised by intense anxiety regarding the fate of their devoted
companion should the owner die, fall ill, or have to move to residential
accommodation. If an ‘old faithful’ dies, elderly owners
are often very reluctant to have another pet for these reasons,
and life for them loses much of its warmth, light and purpose.
The
Trust’s primary objective is to respect and preserve the treasured
relationship between owners and their pets. To this end it works
in partnership with owners to overcome any difficulties that might
arise. A national network of over 10,000 community service volunteers
has been established to provide practical help when any aspect of
day to day care poses a problem - for example, walking the dog for
a housebound owner. A national fostering service is provided for
pets whose owners face a spell in hospital - volunteers take pets
into their own homes and supply love and care in abundance until
owner and pet can be reunited.
