In our courtyards and on the roof top garden we have chickens, birds and rabbits. The animals are looked after by volunteers. In the big recreation room in Pennemes there is an aquarium with tropical fish. It is proved that animals have a positive influence on people: the heart beat and blood pressure gets lower and people get calmer. This is also the reason that we allow people to bring their pet along with them when they move to Pennemes or Mennistenerf. As a result there are several cats and dogs in our care centre, living in the apartment of their owner. Sometimes the staff helps with taking care of the pets, but in general this is done by the resident and his or her family.
At the department Small-scale living in Mennistenerf we have a very special cat: Lina. The Ragdoll is very social and makes contact with the residents. She also notices when someone is not feeling well. In that case she pays extra attention to this person by for example laying on the footboard of the bed.
Finally at the roof top of Pennemes we have a population of bees. Our director is a beekeeper and collects the ‘Pennemes-honey’.
