PET THERAPY
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 OUR HELPERS |
| We are often greeted in the entrance
area by residents who have eagerly been awaiting our arrival.Sometimes
we're told they've been watching for over an hour, even though we always
arrive a few minutes before our scheduled time. Francis chooses to bathe the evening before our visit so she will not miss us. Agnes likes our dogs so much that she will accompany us down all the corridors of the care center. Frank, is recovering from a stroke and cannot speak, but his eyes really light up when the dogs enter his room to visit. |
One gentleman we visited had
recently been placed in the care facility. With family living out of state and a
broken hip experience, Albert was quite resentful of his situation, refusing to
communicate with the nurses and would not participate in group activities. Given
a few moments to connect with "Buddy", Albert opened up and immediately became
conversive. Albert gazed for a long time into Buddys dark brown eges and told Buddy he had a big dog on the farm when he was a child.
He tugged on Buddys soft lips, stroked Buddys ears and pinched Buddys big nose.
Buddys tail wagged the whole time, and after a very long and heartfelt hug,
Albert smiled and told Buddy to be sure to come back and visit again.
After
Buddy visited, Albert became involved in bingo and other social activities, and
now feels very much at home. Buddy visits often and the folks are always eager to
see him.
We always get lots and lots of Thanks for visiting and we wish a
special thanks to those who help make our Pet Therapy visits possible.
