Day 102

8/24/22

Today was a much slower day for my walks with the goldens. Of course, we did our two rounds down by the Rum River and met a few friends...old and new. Those walks let me ponder, relax and breathe.

On to Walker Senior Residence with Lilly today. Ranger was still recovering from his marathon yesterday and was only too happy to send his sister with me. Rumor had it that he crawled up on a couch, pulled a pillow into his paws and slept the morning away!

When we arrive at the Concierge each time, we sign in and typically receive a list of people who would like to see a Therapy Dog. Knowing that we just can't seem to manage all 30 to 40 apartments, we try to choose a floor each week and rotate our visits. Today, we headed to 3rd floor for starters.

I KNOW what my pups do for me and my family. I also am aware of the visits to hospitals where the patients and staff are visibly appreciative for our time together. I sometimes forget what the goldens do for some of the seniors we visit, since they are not as exuberant with their gratitude.

Today, we visited one of our favorites who had not been feeling well for some time. We were welcomed in and sat for a long chat to catch up on her progress with the medical struggles in her life. Lilly sat and listened for a bit and then, positioned herself to lie down on the lady's shoes. After a few moments, our friend noticed and said that it calmed her more that she could say. She looked better and reached down to pet the golden head from time to time. We were thanked many times as we left with promises of a return visit soon. (As a testament to serendipity, this lady's husband just called...yes I give my number out to people who might need us...and wanted to confirm an address for a medical appointment. I told him it was the right place and that, if needed, we would come and take them home when they were done. He sounded so relieved! One of the many joys and privileges of helping these wonderful people.)

Lilly and I headed on our rounds and met many people who really needed a visit today. Perhaps it was the gloomy weather, but each resident thanked us again and again with words like, "I was so sad today and you brightened my morning," or "I was hoping you might be here today and stop by to see me!"

Finally, with Lilly lagging a bit through the hallways, we made a point of stopping by to see the stars of the QCTV Documentary. Sonny was all smiles and got down on the floor to play with our girl and Don (the 99-year-old harmonica player) was in bed, but was beyond pleased to see us.

We finally signed out and started our walk home. All of a sudden, a car pulled up and a gentleman called my name. He identified himself and said he knew it was us...would we be able to attend his father's birthday party this weekend. Lilly and I were both smiling when I said, "There's nowhere I would rather be!"