Day 758
When it's time to go 'Therapy Dogging,' all three, certified pups are ready to go! After choosing Lilly this morning, the other two were crestfallen. Poor boys ...
Lilly literally ran up the ramp to the Subaru and we were off to Walker. (Since it was raining, we did drive down.) Once there, she scampered down the ramp and pranced right through the door. Even though I KNOW she has mobility issues, I do believe she "milks" the situation and enjoys our attempts to make life easier for her. Mac recently said, "If someone had told me years ago that I would be hand-feeding a dog with a spoon, I would have told them they were nuts!" I believe we are both a little "nuts" when it comes to the dogs!
There are individuals, in everyone's lives, who tend to take advantage of a situation and a kind heart. When my own sweet mother was in Memory Care, we fell victim to her ploys more than once.
We received a call from her Care Center one evening regarding a fall. Mac and I rushed down to take her in for X-rays...sure enough, her wrist was broken! After a cast was placed on her forearm, we took her back to Memory Care. It was getting late, but there was music across the hallway where a few residents were gathered. She was not in favor of returning, but we convinced her to head in. She was crying, I was crying, but we dropped her off at her room with promises to return in the morning. Outside the locked unit, we waited ... peering through the window to see if she would follow us. Suddenly, she poked her head out of her room and looked both ways. Suddenly, broken arm and all, she DANCED down the hallway and across to the room where music was playing!
With my mom, and others in my life, there can be an overreaction to circumstances. Often, it is a cry for someone to extinguish the loneliness and isolation the person is experiencing. When our seniors dramatically reach out during our 'Therapy Dogging,' I picture Mom dancing down the hall...waving that broken arm in time to the music, and I listen, comfort and offer companionship at a much deeper level. Sweet Mom...Sweet Seniors! It also occurs to me that you don't have to be in a senior living situation to reach out for compassion and companionship. So glad I have my Goldens to lead the way as I continue to work on building empathy.
