Dogs Visit A Seal Sanctuary To ‘Say Hello’ During Lockdown
The current COVID-19 pandemic has seen a lot of devastation. But it has also seen a lot of good in terms of communities coming together to let others know that they’re not alone. And that same giving spirit has seemingly been mirrored by the animal kingdom after it turned out that a group of dogs has been visiting a seal sanctuary. These sweet canines have been keeping the seals company during lockdown.
Staff at The Cornish Seal Sanctuary, located near Cornwall, say that on average, they see just over 100,000 visitors annually. But because of the lockdown restrictions, the center was forced to close to the public. As a result, their seals became more lonely without the constant stream of visitors.
As a result, the center decided to have dogs come visit the seals. And the happy pooches were only thrilled about getting a chance to share some joy. The center was quite pleased with the outcome, and shared some adorable pictures of the visit.
In fact, the center released a post that read, “With the Sanctuary having no guests walking around, our animals have definitely noticed the difference. The team has been working around the clock to provide lots of extra enrichment and fun for the animals to keep them healthy, happy, and entertained. With ideas running out, our team decided to bring their dogs in to say hello to the seals and to remind them of what it is like when the Sanctuary is open. The animals were very intrigued to see dogs again on site and enjoyed interacting with them.”
While the dog visits have certainly helped the seals perk up, the center had other tricks up their sleeves in terms of using music. As a spokesperson for the center revealed, the calming music was often played over the loudspeakers in order to keep the animal residents chilled out and calm.
Apparently, according to that same spokesperson, the center was inspired after some research conducted in 2017 by a student named Mati Skerrit. Skerrit found that the California sea lions who were played classical music seemed to display less anxiety, and actually spent more time swimming and playing.
While the staff at the center are doing their absolute best to take care of the seals, the sanctuary itself is struggling financially – particularly since certain lockdown restrictions have not been lifted. As a result, the staff set up a fundraising page in hopes to help them raise the £23,000 per month that it needs to keep the center going.
The center wrote, “With the Sanctuary still being closed, and with no certain opening date, we are struggling without the vital revenue from our guests. We are now entering our third month without guests, and need your support more than ever.”
If you would like to help the sanctuary, you can do so by going to Just Giving page.
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