Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Memories-Here Today.....

Maggie and I had the opportunity to return to Haverford Estates last week. This is the nursing home where we visited last month. This time we started our visit in the memory unit which is located in the rear of the building. As we made our rounds we introduced ourselves to a gentleman we will call “Dave”. After going through our routine of Maggie’s age, breed, likes and dislikes, I turned the page and asked him if he had any dogs in his life. He told me when he was in the service his job was to train dogs. Interesting, so that is why Maggie had gone right over to him. I could see the way she responded to his touch. When I asked him if he wanted to give Maggie a treat he knew right away to tell her to sit. I asked him what he trained these dogs to do. He told me he trained them to seek out the enemy and bring them down, but never to kill. Wow, it was an amazing conversation. So my next thought was why is this gentleman in the memory unit at the nursing home? It was a thought that bounced around in my head as I made my rounds. I went to see other residents in the unit. Out of the dozen people in the unit on this day a few people were alert. A couple of ladies were still eating their breakfast (the smells were very enticing to Maggie). Another woman was interested in visiting with Maggie. I realized she was somewhat vision impaired so I gently placed her hand on top of Maggie. As soon as she felt Maggie’s soft fur a huge smile appeared on her face. I wasn’t sure she even realized she was smiling so I commented on it. When I did this she said she hadn’t felt fur so soft in quite some time. Before I left I went to say goodbye to “Dave”. When I said it was lovely talking to him I noticed a blank look on his face. It was then he asked the name of my dog. I told him this is Maggie. He started to tell me about the dogs he trained while he was in the service…… So my question was answered and although I wished he would remember our conversation clearly he wouldn’t. Hopefully it would trigger some pleasant memories of his earlier days. I know Maggie enjoyed the attention she received from “Dave” and the rest of the residents, and I certainly learned a lot from my visit.

No comments:

Post a Comment