Resilience

This past week my visit at the VA was most interesting. I had the opportunity to meet a WWII vet who at the age of 96 looks more like someone in his 70’s. Unfortunately he was on the hospice floor but was completely coherent and with quite a memory as well. While he was visiting with Maggie he was relating his stories of his days with his Labrador Retrievers-all three of them. Their favorite activity was hiking through the woods and running through the streams. I noticed a smile appear on his face as he talked about this. Obviously a pleasant memory. He chose not to speak of his days during the war – “those days are over” he commented “I prefer to think of happy times” I find it so interesting that some people live in their past while others chose to forget them. My second encounter this past week was with one of my regulars. Mr. D- had just returned from the hospital where much to my surprise he had his second leg amputated. When I asked him how he was doing his reply was “When I left the VA I was 6’3” and now I am 3’6” –I might add he said this with a chuckle as Mr. D- has a keen sense of humor. He did point out his bed will no longer need to be extended to accommodate his large size. Always the comic, Mr. D- asked how “Blondie” was doing, the name he uses for Maggie. Maggie sat patiently as Mr. D maneuvered around slowly so he could give a little attention to Maggie. Mr. D- loves to talk baseball, something I am not always in tune to. So I listened patiently and tried to comment and question when appropriate. All in all it was a nice visit and as we leave Maggie’s head is held high, her stomach is filled with treats and I am once again amazed at people’s resilience.

When a Visit Goes Bad

Not every visit goes well. As a therapy handler we have two tasks. One is to bring joy or comfort to the individual/s we are visiting and the other is to protect our pets. In that regard if someone is mistreating our pets or not following instructions we need to let them know. There are a set of rules to follow. Most of the time the visits go well, but occasionally I have to step in and correct bad or unwanted behavior. This past week during a visit at a special needs school a set of instructions was given at the beginning of the session. The instructions consisted of how and where to pet our animals. Our animals like to pet with a flat gentle hand on their bodies (backs and bellies). No head no feet and no tails. These instructions are given for a specific reason. We don’t want any tails to be pulled, any eyes to be poked and any nails on their feet to be pulled. At the beginning of this visit I noticed an aide walk in with her student (she is munching on a chocolate bar) I feel myself go on high alert. She isn’t giving her student full attention and I see the student eye Maggie with intense curiosity. In the beginning of each session all the kids are instructed to sit together in a circle in the middle of the room to hear these instructions and then they are split off into smaller groups around the different animals to be able to spend individual attention with each animal(we rotate every 10-15 minutes so each group meets every animal present). This particular teacher gets distracted and her student walks right over to where I am sitting with Maggie, takes one look at her and proceeds to step on her. Now this kid is not a small child, but rather a hefty child. I promptly yell ”No!”. I then tell the child, “You need to go and sit with the rest of the children. At this point Maggie looks at me as if to say “why would someone do that to me?” I pet Maggie assure her she is a good girl and I would not let this happen again. This child did attempt to come back a few times but I sent him away. It sounds a little harsh but in this case if a teacher is not ready to step in then I have to correct bad behavior. I have had multiple discussions about situations like this with my program director. She has given me clear and precise directions as to how I am allowed to behave towards any individual that is mistreating Maggie. I do understand that teachers might feel overwhelmed at times, but pet therapy visits should not be viewed as their “time off”. There have been countless times that I have watched teachers congregate in the library chit-chatting about their personal lives while I have been disciplining their students. I feel we need to work together a little better so all parties involved come away feeling the visits are a positive experience both for the students, for the school and for the therapy handlers as well.

Losing a Loved One

Losing a loved one is always difficult, this also pertains to our pets. Maggie and I first met Bunker a full bred poodle about two years ago. We met him while at a therapy session at a special needs elementary school. Bunker was approximately 13 years old at the time and a little shy. His curly grey and white hair was very becoming for an “older gentleman”. His handler, Tina loved to dress him up for the holidays and the kids loved it as well. He was known for his pumpkin outfit for Halloween. Per Maggie’s usual self, she insisted on greeting each therapy animal before our visit started (this is permitted, but once the session starts the animals are not allowed to approach each other). Bunker showed little interest at first in Maggie but Tina (his handler) made sure to give Maggie a friendly pat on her back. As time passed Bunker warmed up nicely to Maggie. The kids loved Bunker because he had a lot of patience as they read to him. All therapy dog handlers know that it is good to get their dogs out of the house. It is good to engage their minds and keep them active, not bored at home. Bunker was a therapy dog for 3 years. He came into his career a little later in life. But as we know it is never too late to make a change in our lives. But more importantly Bunker made a positive change in a lot of kid’s lives. Rest in peace Bunker, you will be missed.

The Unknown

The Unknown. The Unknown I’m so fortunate to live near many college and universities. Maggie and I have had the opportunity to visit students at Bryn Mawr College, Haverford College, Immaculata College, Philadelphia College of Medicine, Rosemont College, University of Pennsylvania Medical College, and Villanova University. So what do all these college and universities have in common? A lot of students that are stressed work hard and have a love of animals. As much as the students don’t look forward to mid-terms and finals, Maggie and I do, so we can visit and help relieve their stress. Over the years we have met many wonderful people and had some amazing conversations. But one student stands out the most in my mind. This girl came to “Pets on the Green” as it is known with two of her friends. I noticed her sitting quietly and tried to engage her in conversation. “Do you have a dog at home?” “No,” she replied “Do you like animals?” They’re ok she replied. I quickly realized she was probably just waiting for her friends to finish visiting with Maggie, and probably didn’t want to have a conversation. I did however notice a sadness in her eyes, but decided not to comment about it. After her friends finished their visit and got up to leave she turned to me and said “I’m from Sandy Hook and after the shootings they brought in therapy dogs. It did a lot of good. “ A chill ran down my back. I’ll never know if her sadness stemmed from her stress at school or from her thinking about the events back at home. I did however appreciate her sharing those words with me. It reminded me that we never really know what goes on in someone’s personal life. I do hope she finds a way to heal.

Great Strides

Great Strides. With the school year coming to a close it is amazing to see the growth in all the children. I’m not talking about their height or even their ability to read. What I’m talking about is in their ability to connect with Maggie. With so many children visiting Maggie there are those that have fears and will not pet her or even approach her. I have tried to explain the difference between Maggie and a regular dog (Maggie being very calm).But to no avail. We do not believe in pressuring any children so we just let them watch her from a distance. But this last week has proven that with repetition and positive reinforcement come great strides. I was witness to two young children that previously would not approach Maggie. But over the course of the school year this has changed. They not only felt comfortable approaching Maggie, they also adapted to petting her. One child even sat with her for roughly five minutes. The smile on these children’s faces reached all the way to their eyes. What a pleasure to see how Maggie has helped them grow. (if not for the privacy laws I would have taken a picture). Maggie recognizes most of the children that we visit. But I find it interesting to see her get more excited with certain children. Generally these are the children that have an animal at home and know how to handle her (I know this because I have asked them if they have an animal at home). No poking her face , pulling her tail and no touching her feet, all sensitive areas for her. Some young children need to be watched more than others as they get excited and don’t pay attention to directions very well. All in all it has been a good school year and we look forward to the next school year as well.

Lesson Learned One of the more difficult visits is when you get to the hospice unit and realize a patient there was once on a regular floor. This has happened to me on more than one occasion. The first time this happened I tried to mask the surprise on my face. I hope I was successful, but honestly I don’t know if I pulled it off. As time progressed I have learned to manage my facial expressions to the point of keeping my emotions inside. I do know there have been additional times the same thing has occurred and upon entering a room on the hospice floor I have recognized a former patient from a regular floor. My comment was “Mr ____ there you are, so nice to see you.” This actually evoked a smile from the gentleman as he recognized Maggie and replied “good to be seen” I realize it doesn’t matter what you say as long as you say something. Many people are lonely and long for a conversation not related to their medical condition. So what do we talk about? I usually introduce Maggie (in case they have forgotten who she is), tell them how old she is and talk about what breed she is and how I care for her. If they seem interested (and they have the energy) I ask them questions as well. Did they ever have a dog? If so what breed? What was the name etc? Every case is different. There have been times when a patient has talked non-stop and there have been times when a patient has fallen asleep mid-sentence. Once after a visit Maggie and I were walking down a hall. We were approached by a couple who introduced themselves as (grown) children of a patient we had just visited on the Hospice floor. They pet Maggie for a minute and proceeded to thank me for taking time out of my day for visiting with their loved one. “My pleasure,” I replied With tears in their eyes they said “You don’t understand. Many people say they will come visit but really don’t. I’ve seen you and your dog wandering around here before. You make a lot of people happy.” I gave them a smile and repeated” it’s my pleasure.” I left the facility not only feeling like I accomplished something in my day but really learning the meaning of giving of yourself.

A Nod to the Service Dog

A Nod to the Service Dog One of my favorite school libraries is within the school of VFES (Valley Forge Educational Services) which is located in Malvern Pennsylvania. Maggie and I have been lucky enough to visit there for the past two years. We have met many wonderful children (and faculty). So why do I love the library so much? When you walk in you are greeted with many bright welcoming colors. It is like you are embraced with a warm hug. As I sit there and listen to the children practice their reading to Maggie I sneak a peek at the titles of the many hundreds of books. I yearn to stay after our official visit and spend a lazy afternoon reliving my youth with the likes of Dr Suess, The Hardy Boys and The Nancy Drew series. I admire the Librarian as she greets each child by name when they enter. They take their seat at a table and await instructions. On a day when the therapy animals arrive we wait for the children to gather. We introduce our pets and give a little history about them This could be their age, where they were born or even if they have any siblings. We generally finish with a question about our pets to see if the children remember us from the previous visit, (which of course they do). I’ll never forget one visit last year when we entered the library we unexpectedly encountered a service dog sitting with its handler. Maggie looked at the dog, the service dog looked at Maggie and I could have sworn I saw the slightest nod from each of the dogs, as if so say “good job!” Other than that there was no interaction between these animals during our visit. Service dogs provide support or some type of function that an individual with a disability cannot perform for him or herself. This differs tremendously then Maggie who is a therapy dog. The service dog sat quietly throughout our stay and once the visit was over got up and left quietly with the rest of the group. What I found interesting was that the children knew they could pet the therapy dogs but the service dog was off limits. They had been taught well.