Resident bunny rabbits are bringing a daily dose of joy to residents at Allity’s Princeton View residential aged care home in Brighton East, Melbourne.
The pet rabbits, named ‘Sweet Pea’ and ‘Moosi Mooshi’, are three months old and have been raised from kittens by residents.
Princeton View resident, Shirley Mylanas (pictured) said she loves the feel and touch of the rabbits.
“They feel warm, soft, silky and cuddly to touch,” she said.
“Interacting with the rabbits brightens up my day – it makes me smile and feel happy plus it gives me happiness to touch something so soft.”
Allity’s Princeton View Lifestyle Coordinator, Isabelle Droulers said residents have shared how raising the rabbits has increased their quality of life.
“It has given them solace and something else to think about,” she said.
“Residents go to the window sit and watch how the bunnies scamper around the courtyard and will sit for quite some time watching the bunnies.”
The brother and sister bunny duo are melting worries away, bringing back happy memories and creating new ones.
“It’s the rabbit’s physical appearance and the reminiscing of how residents once upon a time had pets and how much enjoyment they had in raising them,” Shirley said.
“Residents continue to provide positive feedback around how much they enjoy having the rabbits here.”
Sweet Pea and Moosi Mooshi are creatures of habit and have a daily routine.
They have breakfast around 10am and are taken into the courtyard for some exercise and a scanter around.
About midday they return to their “rabbit Hilton” for lunch and a snooze, then in the afternoon are taken out in the pram to visit residents who have limited mobility for some petting and patting.
“Sometimes people initially think it’s a baby and when they check the pram they laugh and think it’s hilarious we are wheeling rabbits around, however they really think it’s a good idea,” Isabelle said.
“So far not one person has ridiculed us – they are all won over!”
