By Bob Groeneveld/Langley Advance Times

Nobody expected to see a horse at Langley Lodge.

But Gunner was exactly the right size to bring back memories.

Alex Peters wanted to bring her miniature horse to the Langley intermediate care home where her grandpa lives.

She hoped it would jog his memory, or at least bring him back to happy times.

B次元官网网址淗e is one of my top male figures in my life,B次元官网网址� said Peters of her grandpa. B次元官网网址淗e has meant all the world to me.B次元官网网址�

But Walter Willoughby has changed since he lived in Brookswood with his wife Mae.

B次元官网网址淓very day is a different day for him,B次元官网网址� Peters said. B次元官网网址淗e still calls me by name, but I canB次元官网网址檛 call him on the phone or he doesnB次元官网网址檛 know who I am. He knows me when I show up in person.B次元官网网址�

The dementia that has slowed him down has changed him in other ways: B次元官网网址淗e was always Mr. Serious, now heB次元官网网址檚 the jokester, always saying the funny thing.B次元官网网址�

Even his appetite has changed. B次元官网网址淗e used to be the skinniest man in the world. He was picky,B次元官网网址� Peters said. B次元官网网址淣ow he eats anything.B次元官网网址�

But Peters was hoping one thing hasnB次元官网网址檛 changed.

Horses have always been a big part of Walter WilloughbyB次元官网网址檚 life, Peters explained.

B次元官网网址淪ometimes people with dementia can communicate better with animals,B次元官网网址� she said, as she prepared her surprise visit with Gunner. B次元官网网址淗e might not understand why the horse is there, but maybe it will connect him to when he was in the barns and with the animals.B次元官网网址�

On Monday afternoon, not only was her grandpa enthralled, the Langley Lodge garden was veritably crowded with delighted residents who all had to say hello to Gunner.

Kyle Sanker, who works at Langley Lodge, said that Gunner was the first horse to visit the home, but was welcomed as part of a culture that offers a variety of experiences for residents.

Music, horticulture, and other programs try to involve residents with dementia in a way that help them to connect with something that they loved to do.

B次元官网网址淪ometimes,B次元官网网址� said Sanker, B次元官网网址渢hey get a nostalgic feeling of being taken back to a point in their life B次元官网网址� it comes back in a lucid moment.B次元官网网址�

Peters, who is planning to be a healthcare worker, was clearly pleased at the effect that tiny Gunner B次元官网网址� he stands only nine hands, B次元官网网址減robably the size of a great DaneB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� had on many of the Lodge residents.

She got the 12-year-old miniature horse as a resuce from Nanaimo, knowing little about him, except that his feet have been B次元官网网址渕oderately deformed B次元官网网址� not enough to stop him from doing what horses do, but theyB次元官网网址檙e not right.B次元官网网址�

His feet certainly didnB次元官网网址檛 stop Gunner from delighting a 100-year-old Langley Lodge resident into expostulating, B次元官网网址淚 never thought IB次元官网网址檇 see a horse again, not in my home!B次元官网网址�

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