Noa van ZorgDier visits special people: 'it is touching to see'

The 20 year-old Wilma starts to shine when she sees dog Noa enter. She finds it exciting on her lap, but in the end the dachshund is spoiled with a good cuddle. It is a special day for Wilma and the other residents of De Olieberg in Scheveningen, because ZorgDier is visiting.

Maike de Bont is already working 15 years with dogs and cats. She visits children, the elderly and works as a volunteer at the ZorgDier foundation. This foundation ensures that people with a mental disability regularly receive a visit from a pet, to cuddle and walk with. We are going on such a nice visit.

Noa

On Tuesday afternoon, Maike and dog Noa will visit Middin location De Olieberg in Scheveningen. Five residents are patiently waiting in the common living room while dog Noa squeaks with enthusiasm. “Noa is perfect for this job. She has a good sense of whether she can press or sit quietly.” For example, Wilma finds it exciting to pet the dog in the beginning, but after she sees that Noa is just sitting quietly, she even dares to take her on her lap.

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“I live from here 1024 ”, says Wilma. “I used to have a rabbit which was already very nice. But I also really like to hug Noa now. If the weather is nice, I would also like to take her out for a walk.” In addition to being nice to cuddle with an animal, the pets motivate the residents to go outside. “People with a disability quickly become overweight, so it is important that they exercise enough. An animal like that is a good motivation,” explains Maike.

Scheveningen

It is also a nice break from the daily grind. Twenty-five people of live on Scheveningen until 70 year. Day activities come along twice a week and twice a week they go to a location themselves. The intention is that the ZorgDier volunteer will also come by every other week.

“Before corona we started at three locations in The Hague, and that has been such a great success that we now want to expand it. For this we are still looking for at least twelve volunteers with a pet,” says Maike.

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The 70 year-old Connie loves dogs. She is picked up by her sister, but not before she can pet Noa. “My dad had a sheepdog and my niece has two chihuahuas who come over often.” She would prefer to have a dog of her own, but the care and responsibility for such a pet is just a bit too much of a good thing and that’s why it’s so nice that Noa can come by.

Not only the residents are happy with the arrival of the animal, also the employee Jamila Kajouane Obbens enjoys it. She has been working with people with disabilities for twenty years and here at Scheveningen for two years. “Many clients here love pets, they have pictures of dogs and cats in the rooms and Jaap even has a tattoo of his previous dog. I think it’s very nice to see how the residents react. They are so happy and some even moved.”

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Care animal

People who can no longer have a pet, for example due to illness or moving to a care institution, often still miss their animals every day . The ZorgDier foundation was founded to take away that sadness a bit or to reduce people’s loneliness. Volunteers with a dog or cat regularly visit people with an intellectual disability. Now the foundation wants to expand to five Middin locations. Do you want to help? Up to and including 18 March you can register.

Look for information on the Zorgdier website