William’s tale sees more generosity from Fort folk
William takes his role at Invernevis House care home in Fort William very seriously – his job is to put smiles on faces and it is one he clearly does very well, much to the delight of the elderly residents who love spending time with the spaniel-cross dog.
Now something of a celebrity – and not just a local one thanks to his very own Facebook page – William arrived at Invernevis House in February 2016 after being adopted by the home through the Scottish charity, ‘Give a Dog a Bone and an animal a home’.
The home’s staff had been searching for a dog for residents following the death of a resident’s dog which had been living there and it was this charity that suggested William.
But his previous hard life as an abandoned pet on the streets of Cyprus had taken its toll and left William with some health worries, including a degenerative hip condition.
Last year residents and staff, together with members of the community, raised an amazing £8,000 to allow vets to replace both William’s hips.
William has settled in well to his new life and Invernevis House was keen this week to highlight the continuing generosity of people towards William’s care.
Crown Vets in the town has now offered to cover William’s annual health care needs, such as immunisations and check-ups, and a current appeal to help cover his on-going living costs has seen even more generosity from the residents of Fort William.
William’s days are always busy and normally start with him and the home’s driver and handyman David Stafford – known to all as Towser – heading off in the mini bus to collect the day care patients and then taking them home again.
William also makes sure he spends time with residents and staff, and has proved wonderfully adept at lifting people’s spirits.
He has a rota of volunteer walkers who ensure he gets plenty of exercise – although the home is always looking for new names to add to the list.
Earlier this month, William enjoyed a holiday when he visited the linked Dail Mhor care home at Strontian and made lots of new friends.
But William doesn’t just bring happiness to the Invernevis House residents and staff, but he also brings happiness to residents’ families as well.
Care home manager Claire Cameron says the dog plays an important part in the life of the home.
‘Having William here brings a homely feeling for the residents at Invernevis; he is a very warm and loving dog.
‘He has the sweetest nature and the residents adore him. It has been well proven that pets, especially dogs, have a very therapeutic effect when they can come into homes.
‘The NHS can’t fund William’s costs, so we raise funds to cover those and when noticing the funds were low we put out an appeal over Facebook to see if anyone wanted to donate.
‘We were overwhelmed by the generosity of the kind folk of Fort William and the surrounding areas.
‘With Crown Vets agreeing to help with his bills and make sure that all his immunisations are kept up to date, and the generous donations from a few local businesses, I am delighted to say that William is one very happy dog.’
If anyone would like to donate any food for William there is a box at Invernevis House, Fort William. You can also follow William’s adventures on Facebook at ‘William the care home dog’.