Getting Old: Animals for Therapy

Dementia is an illness that affects the brain functions, such as memory, understanding, judgement, language, and thinking. The most common form of dementia is called Alzheimers disease. Dementia affects 6 percent of people over sixty-five years of age, 30 percent of people over ninety years of age, and currently affects over 820,000 people in the UK. By 2051, its expected to affect two million people. One-third of people with dementia live in care homes, and this costs 23 billion a year currently and expected to rise to 50 billion a year by 2039. There are eight different types of dementia, and Alzheimers disease is the most common cause of dementia. This is a story about Margaret, Bob, and their dog, Darkie. Read through their life story and help us help them.