Animal Assisted Activity (AAA) Last Night at D'ville Nursing and Rehab

Well, what a night it was!  I took Sami instead of Lucy, due to the storms.  Left Lucy shaking and panting on top of my bed!  Sami was happy to pinch hit for her, she always loves to go.  She is a good therapy dog if I can just keep her from kissing everyone she sees!

We visited with Warren, our African American gentleman who is bedridden and w ho can’t speak.  We approached and I asked if he wanted to see Sami tonight and he nodded that yes, he did.  We moved to the bed and he slowly moved his hand from underneath the covers.  I helped put his hand on Sami’s head and he pet her for a bit.  When he was done, he slowly moved his hand back underneath the covers.   As I left the room, I looked back at him to say goodnight and he had a smile on his face.

We visited with a new elderly lady who when we approached and asked if she’d like to pet Sami, her response was, “I can’t, my hands are crippled”. She was reading a book and her hands, crippled as they were, formed perfectly around the book so it was not evident to me when I first came into the room.  She sounded so disappointed.  I immediately told her it was okay and I would help her so I did just that, taking her crippled hand and turning it over so that the back of her hand stroked Sami’s head.  She was quiet overjoyed and as I left the room, I looked back at her to say goodnight and she had a smile on her face, too!

After making our rounds around the complex, we finally ran into our favorite patient, known simply as “Bud”.  He was so happy to see her!  He just loved on her, kissing her head, and hugging on her.  He is such a pleasant man.  He walked us down the hallway and even outside to my vehicle.  I asked him several times if it was okay for him to be out and he said, yes, that he walked “everywhere” and even would walk down the street all the time for exercise.  I believed him.  He is a forgetful person but he doesn’t tell fibs!! 

We chatted at the vehicle for a bit, long enough for me to see a screw embedded in one of my back tires.  He told me to be sure to get that plugged and if anyone tried to give me grief or charge me for doing that, to come get him and he’d set them straight.  Bless his heart – he is absolutely so endearing and I only wish he had family and grandchildren around as he’d be the best granddaddy!  Anyway, as I was leaving the parking lot, I turned and waved goodnight and he, too, had a smile on his face!

It’s amazing what an hour of your time can do for people like Warren and Bud and our new favorite patient (I didn’t get her name).  It is such a rewarding experience, one which my Greyhounds and I have enjoyed now for nearly nine years!  I am so thankful we can do this little bit of "therapy" to help so many!

Another Raw Food Incident

Well, I'm learning folks is all I can say. This is still so new or so it seems!

Yesterday it was raining "cats and dogs" so I decided to try the canned mackeral out on the girls so they could eat inside from their food bowls. I'd had the three cans in the cupboard since Day 1 of the raw diet and was itching to let them try it. So, I said, "why not?" I had heard from Addie that her boys just loved theirs so I imagined my girls would as well - hey, what did I have to loose? They haven't refused anything, thus far (well, except for the raw egg/Sugar incident) and I've fed them some really gross stuff (turkey butts come to mind). Canned mackeral fits right in with that description so I decided to go for it. I opened the first can and almost gagged. UGH!! I can't believe how disgusting it smelled and looked and probably tasted but you know how dogs are, the nastier it is, the better it is!

I poured the first can in Sugar's bowl and sat it back down for her to eat it. She went right to it like a martin to a gourd, as my mother might say. She ate the mackeral first and then licked up the juices. Lucy was next. She also went right to it, eating the mackeral and then the juices. Remi, on the other hand, licked up the juices first and then ate the mackeral. Go figure.

They all enjoyed the stuff much to my dismay. That means I'll probably have to give it to them again at some point in the future. UGH, again!!

After dinner was over I washed their food bowls and cleaned the floor (trying to get rid of that stinky fish smell). It was then time to get ready for pet therapy. Yes, we had pet therapy last night at the nursing home. I gave all the girls peppermint candies and each received a Greenie, even Sugar, who came with me.

On the way to the nursing home, she emitted the most awfullest gas that has ever come out of her body and she can be quite gassy at times (the only one out of three who often gets this way, so I can't complain). We drove the entire trip to the nursing home with the back window half-way down so I could breathe and not pass out while driving. She, on the other hand, seemed quite content to lay in the back enjoying her Greenie. Of course she had no idea she was about to kill me.

We finally arrived at the nursing home where I practically burst out of the SUV - ahh, fresh air, fresh air. It was delightful! It was sprinkling a bit, but I didn't care. The air was awesome. I unloaded Sugar and took her to the grassy area to potty. She pee'd but no potty. I thought she might need to go after all that but she didn't.

So, we went inside. I warned Kim (and Lindsey), who met us there, to beware of what might come out of Sugar's behind. It was lethal, I tell you. Fortunately, during the entire visit, she never did have any gas. However, she was still quite lethal . . . it was her breath. She had fish breath! Mackeral breath to be exact! I tried to fix it with the peppermint candies and then the Greenie but neither worked. It was awful. You could smell her a mile away. The patients were quite nice though, never mentioning it until we were visiting with two ladies who we see every month. They petted Lindsey and then Sugar. Lindsey tried to give them kisses at which time I warned them not to ask for any from "fish breath" Sugar. They both laughed and one lady said, "Oh my, I thought that was me!" Funny . . . I assured her it was Mackeral Sugar and it wasn't her. We all laughed, and yes, at Sugar's expense. Again, she was oblivious!

Thank God our visit was rather short and we were soon on our way home. Another bit of gas in the car but then no more throughout the night. This morning, I couldn't really smell fish on anyone.

(Another) lesson learned - never, never feed mackeral the night of pet therapy.