Green-fingered folk sow the seeds to ward off lonliness
HOURS spent in the garden can help people make more friends and keep loneliness at bay.
The companionship and chat enjoyed while planting, potting and pruning reduces feelings of isolation, anxiety and depression.
A poll of 2,000 people found that 52 per cent experienced loneliness but it was more evident among the young with 68 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds saying they felt lonely compared with 41 per cent of over-55s.
Thirty-nine per cent of people turn to their garden or window boxes when they feel lonely.
More than half of adults “enjoy” being surrounded by greenery and 53 per cent said it boosts their mood.
The research was commissioned by the Royal Horticultural Society.
Its director general, Sue Biggs, said: “We passionately believe gardening is good for mental health and want to encourage people to join local social gardening groups, garden with neighbours or volunteer in gardens in order to boost their well-being and confidence.”
Research by health charity The King’s Fund found many mental health benefits for gardeners and reductions in feelings of anxiety, loneliness and depression.
Gardening was found to be one of the best activities to prevent loneliness in old age and planting may help keep dementia at bay through physical activity.
BY RIGHTS, retired police dog Finn should be resting peacefully on a sofa and munching treats, having put his paws up after a life fighting crime. After all, the German Shepherd collared 300 criminals with handler PC Dave Wardell, and famously suffered appalling stab wounds in the line of duty.
Not expected to survive, Finn, 10, made an astonishing comeback and then, with Dave’s help, fronted a successful national campaign to change animal welfare laws. Nicknamed Finn’s Law, the legislation makes it harder for those who harm service animals to claim they were acting in self-defence.
Previously, attacking a police dog or horse could only be treated as criminal damage. So the amendment to the Animal Welfare Act should make violent thugs think twice before attacking service animals.
Now Dave and Finn – who went on to wow Simon Cowell on Britain’s Got Talent with their “mind-reading act” – are campaigning to see the maximum jail term for causing neglect and cruelty to animals rise from six months to five years.
“It’s a just cause, a worthwhile campaign and that’s why we are back on the campaign trail,” says Dave, 43, still a serving police dog handler with Hertfordshire Constabulary.
As his master speaks, Finn lying peacefully by his feet, suddenly barks his approval. The dog fixes me with an unblinking gaze, apparently watching for my approval.
“He’s waiting for you to say you back the campaign,” urges Dave.
When I loudly profess my support Finn barks once in acknowledgement before lying down again with his ears pricked up, still listening intently to every word but looking more relaxed. Phew.
It’s hardly surprising the pair are so passionate about their latest campaign.
DAVE recalls in detail that terrible night in October 2016 when the pair came within a whisker of death in Stevenage. They were attacked in the early hours of October 5 in the Hertfordshire town while responding to a report of a robbery. Finn was stabbed with a 12in hunting knife in the head and chest by a 16-year-old suspect and underwent four hours of emergency surgery.
The blade narrowly missed the dog’s heart, magistrates at Stevenage Youth Court were told. Dave was stabbed in the hand and firmly believes Finn saved his life.
“I saw the knife coming out of Finn’s chest and then he went to stab me with it,” recalls Dave.
“Dogs are masters of body language and I’m sure Finn knew exactly what was going on. I think he moved deliberately to lift the man and make him deflect the blow away from me.
“Instead of stabbing me in the body, the knife went across Finn’s head, causing another terrible injury to him, but I was only cut on the left hand. With such wounds the natural instinct for a dog is to whimper and
‘The vet gave me the chance to say goodbye. I sat beside him and I cried into his fur’
go under a bush, but Finn kept his grip on the suspect. That is the loyalty of a well-trained police dog.
“The suspect finally let go of the knife after I had slammed him against the ground three times and it was only then that I asked Finn to let go of his leg.”
Dave continues: “I’ve seen a boy bleed to death, so I knew my time with Finn could be very short when I saw his injuries. He’d saved my life that night and I knew I had to save him. I scooped him up in my arms and with the blue light flashing we headed to a vet.
“His lungs had collapsed, he’d lost a lot of blood and the vet gave me a chance to say goodbye. I sat beside him and cried into his fur. I was just heartbroken.”
Then followed a high-speed journey to a specialist vet for a fourhour emergency operation, which