If you follow us on social media then you will have seen that we introduced a new member of the Emmaus Cambridge community to you all this morning – Caroline the Crocodile. However, if you also spotted today’s date then you’d know this was our April Fools and, of course, we haven’t adopted a crocodile!
We are proud to be an animal friendly community and are home to various animals (no crocodiles…). At Emmaus Cambridge, we see the bond our companions have with the animals in our community and understand how important this is for their overall happiness and wellbeing.
Over the years we have welcomed many companions and their dogs. This is very important for us, as many temporary housing accommodations are unable to offer a place for a person and their four-legged companion.
Here’s just a few of our other community pets:
The Chickens ‘Babes’
We have five hens in the community. These lovely ladies roam free across our grounds and enjoy life as a chicken should, cared for by our companions Steve and Ian, with Steve endearingly calling all the hens ‘Babes’ in his strong Scottish accent.
Their free ranging lifestyle does occasionally lead to minor ‘contretemps’ with the gardening team but ‘live and let live’ is the motto and we love them really!
Children love to feed them when they visit and we do get the odd egg or two!
‘Betty’
Betty is our beautiful Kunekune pig. She has been with us for over four years and is, literally, a big part of our community.
Companion Matt takes overall responsibility for her welfare as he has extensive experience of pig keeping, but we all love her and several companions make regular trips to give her apples which she loves.
Betty is very friendly and loves a scratch! She is another ‘big’ attraction for our younger visitors and she and ‘the girls’ can’t wait to have visitors once again.
Florence ‘Flo’ or ‘Fluffy’:
Flo is our majestic community cat, who takes full advantage of the love and attention she receives from all of the community.
Flo is around two years old and she came to our community around 10 months ago. Many cat lovers will know that cats choose you, and she has chosen companion Alex, whose room she chooses to reside in the most, takes overall responsibility for her care. She does often visit neighbours for an extra dinner and cuddle and also takes the opportunity to sit on Tom’s warm bed every once in a while, as well as other favourite spots, such as the pool table and community courtyard.
Alex and Tom both explained the joy Flo and the other animals bring to the community. Having an animal to care for offers so much happiness and love to so many lives in the community.
Companion Alex said, “Florence brings a lot of joy and love to my life and the community. Having the responsibility of looking after her has such a positive impact on my mental health. As you can imagine, at 2yrs old she’s a proper character with a very demanding nature!”
Companion Tom explained, “A cat’s purr is the sound of unconditional love. Having animals makes the community feel like a home. When Flo comes into my room for little visit it brings me so much happiness and makes feel relaxed. A cuddle from her is the perfect remedy after a long day.”
