West Lake engages residents with pet photo contest
Residents’ love of animals inspires staff member to create contest
Tuesday May 6, 2008 -- Deron Hamel
“This April, West Lake Terrace is Going to the Dogs.” This is the slogan the life enrichment department at West Lake Terrace used for a pet photo contest held April 30 designed to engage residents.

Life enrichment aide Marnie Klein, who came up with the idea for the contest, says the activity was successful at engaging residents in conversation and generating smiles on the faces of people throughout the Picton long-term care home.

“I got the idea because I’ve been working in long-term care long enough to know that there’s one topic that makes everybody happy — talking about the old pets they loved,” says Klein.

Klein asked staff members to bring in photographs of their dogs and pin them up along the bulletin board leading up to the dining room.

The contest was held in conjunction with home’s monthly birthday party. On their way to the dining room for the party, residents cast their vote for their favourite picture in a variety of categories — strongest dog, silliest dog, prettiest dog, happiest dog and the sleepiest dog.

Initially, Klein, whose toy poodle Sophie took the title of happiest dog, says she counted on about six to 10 photographs being brought in to be judged by residents. But once word about the contest got out to staff members and families, the bulletin board was plastered with about 30 pictures in no time flat.

About 20 of the home’s 47 residents participated in the contest.

Klein says she saw a lot of benefits result from the effort.

“There were conversations, friendships were born, there was nostalgia and memories were stirred up,” she notes. “One of the things I love to see is residents forming friendships with each other. Residents having conversations. . . . These pictures got some of that talking going.”

Donna Nugent is one of the residents who participated in the contest. Nugent says she and the other residents had a lot of fun talking about the photographs.

“I really enjoyed it. It was very interesting and there were a lot of cute dogs,” she says.

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