How Tiger the Budgie is helping ease grief and loneliness

Posted: 9th January 2020

Meet Tiger, who's perched on the head of his good friend and owner, Mr B.

The Doris Jones team has been helping care for Mr B since his wife sadly passed away in November. Grief-stricken and lonely in the weeks that followed, Mr B would barely talk or interact with anyone, despite frequent visits from family and his Doris care team.

Then his daughter had an idea. Both Mr B and his wife were bird-lovers and there are lots of pictures of birds on the walls of the flat, so how about getting a pet Budgerigar? And it's worked out brilliantly. Tiger is about a month old now and has settled in well to his new home. He has the whole flat to explore during the day and happily returns to his cage each evening.

According to Sam, one of his regular carers, "The change has been immeasurable. Mr B is more talkative, interacts more, with both Tiger and his carers, and seems generally much more positive in himself. He and Tiger have clearly become great friends!"

He may only be small but Tiger has made a huge difference to Mr B's wellbeing. Sam and the rest of the team at Doris wish them both a long and happy friendship.