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You are here: Home Family & Kids Pets Petting pigs for pensioners
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06/05/2011Petting pigs for pensioners

Petting pigs for pensioners Felix is a pig, but no ordinary pig. He and his Dutch owner visit old people’s homes in Germany as therapy. Felix likes to be stroked and fed nice bits of carrot. This encourages the elderly and infirm to interact and get more physical exercise.

The idea of taking a pig along to old people’s homes comes from Dutch physiotherapist Daan Vermeulen, who now lives in Germany. When he brought his first pig home, he noticed people’s reactions to this unusual pet. This gave him the idea of ‘pig therapy’. So far, he is the only person to use a pig for therapy sessions.

 





Marijke van den Berg

Radio Netherlands

 



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