Napoleon and Dusty

Posted by TeamCharlie on July 23, 2008 under Kids are Heroes, Wags for Hope | Be the First to Comment

Last night I shadowed two new animal teams at Citizen’s Care & Rehab.  Having visited there now for four years, I sometimes get moments where I question my own commitment, and wonder if the residents start to take us for granted.  It has also been a bit sad for me personally lately, since many of my “regulars” have recently passed away.  Make no mistake about it, this is part of the territory.  I was speaking to a woman yesterday who is anxious to start this activity.  She had recently been in a nursing home herself and had felt the loneliness that many of the residents suffer.  She wanted to get her dog started, but wasn’t sure if the dog would be a good fit for the visitations.  She said that she would just do nothing if the dog didn’t work out.  I suggested to her that she could do a world of good just visting alone.  Her response was that she didn’t want to get close to the residents and then have to suffer their passing.  My answer to that is that just because you bring in your pet doesn’t mean that you will not establish relationships with the residents.  The alternative is to not visit and not suffer the loss of friends.  Doesn’t that sound a bit selfish?  I know that this sort of thing cannot be handled by everyone, but just think of the pleasure you give a person as you are helping to escort them from this life.  Is it better that they all go this journey alone?  I think not.

Anyway, back to Napoleon and Dusty…

Dusty is a Pembroke Welsh Corgi.  Last night was his first night visting the residents at Citizen’s.  To be quite honest, I personally think the general look of a Corgi is not that endearing.  (I know – that’s my problem.)  The point I’m making is that it took no time for Dusty to win me over.  For whatever reason I think of Corgis as an aloof breed.  I have absolutely no foundation for that suspicion, it is just a feeling I have.  Not Dusty – what a sweet dog.  He is so anxious to see everyone and will give you a kiss if he is allowed.  Many of the residents told us they had never seen this breed up close before.  They were so interested in him.  His 10 year old handler, Courtney, brought pictures of him in action performing an agility exercise called “Fly Ball”.  It was heartwarming to see the smiles that Dusty brought to people’s faces.  He made many new friends.

Then came Napoleon.  Napoleon is a 190 lb. English Mastiff. Wow!!  He also enjoyed his first night last night.  As he lumbered into the lobby, he got all the reactions I was expecting from people.  To this day, Charlie has held the record for being the largest dog at Citizen’s.  Not any more.  It took twenty minutes just to get out of the lobby!  As we walked the halls we got reactions from staff and residents alike.  They couldn’t believe their eyes. And it’s not just that he is big, he is so sweet and tolerant.  He LOVES to be petted so that works out very well for him.  Napoleon is not built for speed.  As a matter of fact, he’s not built for standing!  After a few minutes of being in one place, down he would go to enjoy as much cool square footage from the floor as he possibly could.  One lady told us, “You picked the day that I am in the most pain to visit.”  I truly believe Napoleon alleviated some of that pain as she couldn’t keep the smile off of her face for the duration that he was there.  At one point it really hit me how much joy Napoleon and his handler Karen were bringing to everyone.  People would follow him out into the hallway in their wheelchairs just to watch what he would do next.  That was true for Dusty as well.

So no, I don’t believe the residents take us for granted and yes, even after having Wags dogs visiting Citizen’s for two years, everyone is really enjoying every one of us that participates there.  And as far as the passings are concerned, either fortunately or unfortunately they are replaced with new people that soon become friends.