"Our Special Friends

Celebrating and supporting the companionship of animals in our lives. We champion the power of animal companionship and promote, preserve and provide animal companionship support services.

We specialise in the practical and emotional support of the human-animal bond in all circumstances but particularly in the elderly, vulnerable and socially isolated and will point you in the right direction of services or products that are available.
Please feel free to ring or email with any queries or concerns, whatever they are, we would like to try and help.

The benefits of animal companionship on human wellbeing have been proved by countless studies and, for many people, their pet is a vital companion, providing friendship, security and continuity, especially at challenging times. Our Special Friends is a charity, currently operating in West Suffolk, which supports human-animal relationships to enable them to continue despite changes in circumstance if possible. We provide a range of animal companionship support services (ACSS) via local volunteers under the guidance of our animal companionship practitioners. 

• We offer practical and emotional support to enable those facing difficult times to benefit from animal companionship. This includes:
• Dog-walking or accompanied walking via our volunteers or others.
• Advice and practical support via our volunteers to keep a pet living with its owner.
• Regular visits from a volunteer with their own dog.
• Sourcing, introduction and monitoring of a new pet.
• Increasing awareness and understanding of the benefits of the human-animal bond and the impact of loss and bereavement.

We raise awareness of the benefits of the human-animal bond and the impact of loss and bereavement, whether human or pet. We provide advice and support pre-, during and post-bereavement in partnership with other support services as appropriate. Our work includes providing advice and support where appropriate to:

• Encourage advance planning for the care of the animal to give peace of mind.
• Educate professionals and volunteers in the fields of social care, human and animal health about the benefits of supporting human-animal relationships.
• Work collaboratively with existing human and companion animal (pet) organisations and support networks to help both people and animals.