Seniors For Living

Dogs, cats, fish, birds, and bunnies: these may be the animals that come to mind when we hear about pet therapy in senior living communities. However, as we’ve covered on the blog before, Silverado Senior Living communities have baby kangaroos and other unique pets that live with the residents year-round, bringing joy to staff, volunteers, and visitors too.

Even still, this may be one of the most unique pet therapy programs yet: a troupe of ducks — aptly named “Peeper and the Pipettes” for the sweet chirps and peeps they make (instead of the quacks you’d expect from their kind) — who deliver the daily mail to residents of a Minnesota nursing home.

According to this post from the Ecumen Senior Living blog, the “girls” accompany the man whom they’ve imprinted as their mother: 53-year-old volunteer mailman Steve Score.

As you can see in the short video (watch it here), the residents are all smiles when Steve, Peeper and the Pipettes walk through the door with a handful of mail. Sometimes, the ducks will even jump up into a resident’s lap for a special visit before following Steve down the hall to the next room.

Your turn: What unique programs, pet therapy or otherwise, have you admired at a senior living community in your neighborhood?