ARTICLE BY: Rachel Horan, Happy Paws Happy Hearts.

Opening our doors in a new location can be a busy and sometimes stressful experience – much like when a cat is adopted into a new home. Finding yourself in an unfamiliar place and environment – where you don’t know anything or anyone – can be a little scary at the best of times. But Ten Lives has ‘adopted’ Happy Paws Happy Hearts with open paws.

We are lucky to call their fantastic location our home, allowing us to work with the shelter cats and kittens of Tasmania in our group sessions. We have been graciously welcomed with open arms, making the whole experience of integrating and settling into our new location as easy as possible.

For those who haven’t met us, Happy Paws Happy Hearts is a registered charity and not-for-profit organisation on a mission to connect socially isolated people with shelter animals needing hands-on time. Our participants come from various backgrounds, including those experiencing mental health challenges and people living with a disability. We have a unique ‘twist’ on animal therapy; instead of bringing animals to socially isolated people, we bring the people to the animals in need. In our programs, participants learn animal training and handling, connect with fellow animal lovers, develop new skills and confidence, and give back to the community and animal care facility meaningfully.

Since expanding from Brisbane, we are now in seven locations across Australia throughout Queensland, New South Wales, Northern Territory, and now, Tasmania. When we were on our search to fi d a ‘purr-fect’ location partner in Tasmania, guess who snuggled their way into our hearts? You guessed it – Ten Lives! The location fi t us like a glove, aligning with our mission and core values, and we haven’t looked back since.

The team at Ten Lives have so generously welcomed us into their incredible shelter, where they help cats and kittens fi nd their forever homes. We are so proud to be a part of that journey for these feline friends and are so grateful to have a location partner doing such incredible work in their community. We feel so supported and truly welcome in the location, as we start to get familiar with the lay of the land and who’s who in the zoo. Our Trainer, Rhianna Peters, says that Ten Lives made the introduction incredibly easy, making her feel included and welcomed the entire way.

“The staff at Ten Lives have made getting to know the shelter super easy. They are always there to answer any questions I may have; they are always willing to lend a hand and make me feel so welcome and supported,” Rhianna says.

“I absolutely love working with the people and cats at Ten Lives. They are all awesome and make coming to work every day so fun and rewarding. I enjoy knowing I’m helping the cats waiting for their forever homes as well as our participants in each session.”

Since opening our doors in Hobart just four months ago, we have welcomed 6 participants to the Happy Paws Happy Hearts community, with big plans to expand on the horizon! We welcome people from all walks of life – young and old – to our ‘paw-some’ group programs.

If you’re curious to learn more about who we are or what we do, or you are interested in joining one of our programs, please reach out to our friendly enrolment team on 1300 077 984 or via our website – www.hphhfoundation.org/contact-us