87-year-old Muriel has spent over 70 years caring for animals in need, and has rescued hundreds of cats, at least 80 dogs and a foal. In collaboration with Longleat, Rivermede Court arranged for Muriel to go on a boat trip to feed the sea lions, to meet some of the zookeepers, see a wide range of animals, feed some aardvarks and do a safari drive.
Hanka Vlhova, Lead Wellbeing and Lifestyle Coordinator at Rivermede Court, part of Cinnamon Care Collection said: “Caring for animals has been such a significant part of Muriel’s life that we wanted to create a special Sprinkle of Cinnamon day out for her so that she could re-connect with her passion for animals. The team at Longleat were incredible in helping to facilitate such a memorable day, which included Muriel seeing an aardvark for the first time in her life, meeting some meerkats and spending time in the lemurs enclosure at feeding time. Muriel was so interested in hearing what the zookeepers had to say about looking after the animals and remembers every word that George the zookeeper said to her! She has cared for animals all her life and so being able to organise this day out for her was such an honour. Seeing how much she enjoyed it was very special.”
Muriel Goddard, said: “I really loved the day at Longleat. If I was bit younger, I would start working there tomorrow!”
Sue Posthumus, Muriel’s niece, who attended the day said: “I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Rivermede Court care home and Longleat for organising a truly special day for Muriel. The whole day was lovely, starting with meeting the wonderful staff at Longleat, who helped us get on the boat to see the animals that live in or by the lake. Meeting the meerkats and having them jump onto her lap for feeding, followed by feeding the aardvarks, was a wonderful experience. These moments have created special memories for both Muriel and me.”
Rivermede Court, based at The Avenue, Egham, offers exceptional residential, dementia and respite care. It is part of Cinnamon Care Collection which, for the past eight years, has been recognised as a Top 20 Care Home Group by Carehome.co.uk. For further information about Rivermede Court, please visit www.cinnamoncc.com/rivermede