Council calls on unique local charity to support residents with four legged ‘friend’ visits

The Connie Lewcock centre, run by Newcastle City Council and based in Lemington, has been helped by local charity Wag & Company to provide a very special type of new ‘friend’ to the people they support.

Kate Hierons and her Wag Friendship Dog Wedgie

Wag volunteer Kate Hierons and her 6-year-old pet dog, black Labrador, Wedgie, qualified as a Wag Friendship Dog, visit the centre on a weekly basis. They spend up to two hours supporting some of our most vulnerable residents with the comfort and companionship a dog can bring. Many of the ‘friends’ Wedgie has made are previous dog owners who can no longer have a dog of their own, some are also bereaved and in failing health or with mobility issues, but he brings a lot of joy to everyone he meets during his visiting times.

Cllr Karen Kilgour, Deputy Leader of Newcastle City Council and Cabinet Member for a Healthy, Caring City said: “I’m so proud that our work with Wag & Company helps people in our care to enjoy the special type of friendship animals can provide. This type of support is so important to our older residents as people and dogs can form a very special bond. It’s these small ways of looking at support differently and giving people something each week to look forward to that makes a huge difference.”

Diane Morton, Founding Director/CEO, Wag & Co added: “Wedgie makes an immediate connection with everyone he meets and has become a real ‘friend’ to many people at the centre and the other places he visits in Newcastle too. Some people have always had a dog that they would talk to, cuddle and share their troubles with and when that relationship is no longer there it can be very difficult. We find that the visits people have from our dogs can really make a difference to the way people feel about their lives.”

Wag & Company is the only visiting dog charity to befriend older dog lovers in their own homes as well as in care or medical establishments. They recruit special people and their lovely dogs, all volunteers, and carefully screen and match them to safely visit fellow dog lovers in their communities.

There is a big demand for this service across the region, the charity has around 400 Friendship Dogs and visits over 225 care and medical establishments and 160 people alone in their own homes. The charity relies completely on support from North-East people, grant bodies and organisations to continue.

To find out more about how you can volunteer or support Wag & Company visit: Wag & Company | Ending Loneliness for Older Dog Lovers (wagandcompany.co.uk)