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Fellowship Community in Whitehall, PA, has seen its fair share of animals come through the door. Cats, dogs, rabbits, turkeys and even reindeer have strutted the halls of the senior care facility.
But Fellowship reached a new level recently when a pair of young marsupials joined the ranks. All it took was a call from director of activities Kim Cseh connected with Matt Aldinger, the owner of Aldinger Farm in Harrisburg, PA.
“I turned [the television] on and I saw kangaroos were visiting somewhere and I noticed Aldinger Farms on [Matt Aldinger’s] shirt,” said Cseh. “I found him on Facebook, messaged him and asked him if he could possibly visit our residents. We arranged a day and a time so it was pretty easy and we were all set up to go after that.”
The newest visitors to Fellowship Community were a pair of 7-month-old kangaroos, Ruby and Ralphie. Their presence was not only welcomed but deeply appreciated. Cseh says that between 80 and 90 people attended, including staff, residents and some family members.
“Everybody loved to see [the kangaroos] and hold them,” Cseh said. “They also had questions for Matt and he answered them. It was all around a great day.”
While kangaroos are known to be bouncy creatures, Ruby and Ralphie were composed and collected around the residents. The pair made lots of new friends and even a naptime companion.
“They were very calm and you could tell that they were around people a lot,” said Cseh. “They were very tame and the residents held them and they petted them. At one point, some woman was holding the kangaroo and as she was petting it, it fell asleep. The residents said they’re just babies.”
Cseh likes to include animals in her programming schedule as they provide lots of therapeutic benefits for residents. She notes that Ruby and Ralphie even prompted some of the quieter residents to come out of their shells.
“[Animal visits] help improve their mood and it reduces depression,” said Cseh. “It lowers their stress and they all remember petting an animal and having a dog or a cat or anything like this. It improves some of their cognitive functions; some people that don’t really say too much just light up when we have animals come in. It just makes my heart happy to see everybody happy and enjoying the activity. It makes me enjoy my job even more than I already do.”