Several times a week, Vida and I go visiting at the nursing home where my Mom has been for the past four years.
These visits are bittersweet, but Vida's presence helps. Years ago she passed her therapy dog test and she has been coming with me to the home ever since. All the residents on Mom's floor look forward to seeing Vida. The few times that I left Vida home resulted in disappointed faces and many questions. Where's Vida? Where is the dog? Is she sick? It is humbling to know that Vida is the main attraction, and I am just the woman holding the other end of her leash.
What makes Vida such a wonderful therapy dog? Unlike some therapy dogs, she doesn't climb up on a resident's bed to cuddle with them and she doesn't perform any cute tricks to make them laugh. But what she does do is communicate a powerfully calming influence. This is especially true now at nearly 12 years old. Like most of the residents she too is a senior citizen that has learned from a life of experiences with people.
Vida also seems to have a positive calming effect on the staff. These professional caregivers of the elderly and the infirm are amazing people. They are patient beyond belief and yet there must be times they feel down from the loss of a favorite patient or they feel frustrated by the demands of the families or the many regulations they must follow as they care for the residents. Somehow, even within the difficult job they perform, they will take a moment to marvel at Vida's calming presence.
One resident that always delights in seeing Vida is a woman who suffered a stroke that damaged the speech center of her brain. As a result, after her stroke she never spoke. Nevertheless, she has a very expressive face that would light up when she saw Vida and me coming down the hall. She would wheel her chair toward us and reach out to pet Vida on the head. One day, to everyone's surprise she said in a strong voice, "Nice Dog!" On our next visit, I noticed that while she stroked Vida she began to mumble to herself or to Vida a string of sentences. They were not clear enough for me to understand, but she seemed happy to be conversing anyway.
Another stroke victim on the floor is a man who now has a terrible time with short-term memory. He had to ask nurses repeatedly for their names even though they had been his nurses for months. He was delighted to see Vida and was convinced he was Vida's favorite resident. At first he asked repeatedly about her name, but lately, he has been able to recall her name and has been very excited that he could remember. It clearly gave him a boost to know he remembered her name. He also loved the idea that he was Vida's favorite.
Now, those of you who are regular readers of "Whiskers and Tales" know what happened the last time I devoted my column to Vida. Yes, my cat Sully was "pur-r-r-r-turbed." So I must remind Sully that way back in March I wrote about the healing power of cats. For Sully's sake I will repeat a segment of that column here:
"Today, the better nursing homes are aware of the benefits of having visiting and resident animals on the premises. Some floors have a cat that is free to roam and others welcome regular visits from licensed therapy dogs. Many of the elderly miss having a cat or dog of their own, and when they can hold or see animals in the nursing home, they can reminisce about a lifetime of animals they once loved and for which they dearly cared. When Douglas' father was seriously ill in a nursing home, the resident cat would not leave his side until he passed.
Apparently this was not the first time this same cat was drawn to the side of a dying resident."
In response to this story about cats and dying patients one reader e-mailed me about an article in the New England Journal of Medicine that was devoted to the issue of cats staying by dying patients.
For further information on the Saratoga County Animal Shelter, visit www.saratogacountyny.gov or call (518) 885-4113. For more information on the Friends of the Saratoga County Animal Shelter contact Sandy Zanone at (518) 583-1080. Also, if you have questions about your pets, pet adoption or other related topics, send them to jsweet@skidmore.edu. If we do not have the answers, we will contact people who do!
What makes Vida such a wonderful therapy dog? Unlike some therapy dogs, she doesn't climb up on a resident's bed to cuddle with them and she doesn't perform any cute tricks to make them laugh. But what she does do is communicate a powerfully calming influence. This is especially true now at nearly 12 years old. Like most of the residents she too is a senior citizen that has learned from a life of experiences with people.
Vida also seems to have a positive calming effect on the staff. These professional caregivers of the elderly and the infirm are amazing people. They are patient beyond belief and yet there must be times they feel down from the loss of a favorite patient or they feel frustrated by the demands of the families or the many regulations they must follow as they care for the residents. Somehow, even within the difficult job they perform, they will take a moment to marvel at Vida's calming presence.
One resident that always delights in seeing Vida is a woman who suffered a stroke that damaged the speech center of her brain. As a result, after her stroke she never spoke. Nevertheless, she has a very expressive face that would light up when she saw Vida and me coming down the hall. She would wheel her chair toward us and reach out to pet Vida on the head. One day, to everyone's surprise she said in a strong voice, "Nice Dog!" On our next visit, I noticed that while she stroked Vida she began to mumble to herself or to Vida a string of sentences. They were not clear enough for me to understand, but she seemed happy to be conversing anyway.
Another stroke victim on the floor is a man who now has a terrible time with short-term memory. He had to ask nurses repeatedly for their names even though they had been his nurses for months. He was delighted to see Vida and was convinced he was Vida's favorite resident. At first he asked repeatedly about her name, but lately, he has been able to recall her name and has been very excited that he could remember. It clearly gave him a boost to know he remembered her name. He also loved the idea that he was Vida's favorite.
Now, those of you who are regular readers of "Whiskers and Tales" know what happened the last time I devoted my column to Vida. Yes, my cat Sully was "pur-r-r-r-turbed." So I must remind Sully that way back in March I wrote about the healing power of cats. For Sully's sake I will repeat a segment of that column here:
"Today, the better nursing homes are aware of the benefits of having visiting and resident animals on the premises. Some floors have a cat that is free to roam and others welcome regular visits from licensed therapy dogs. Many of the elderly miss having a cat or dog of their own, and when they can hold or see animals in the nursing home, they can reminisce about a lifetime of animals they once loved and for which they dearly cared. When Douglas' father was seriously ill in a nursing home, the resident cat would not leave his side until he passed.
Apparently this was not the first time this same cat was drawn to the side of a dying resident."
In response to this story about cats and dying patients one reader e-mailed me about an article in the New England Journal of Medicine that was devoted to the issue of cats staying by dying patients.
For further information on the Saratoga County Animal Shelter, visit www.saratogacountyny.gov or call (518) 885-4113. For more information on the Friends of the Saratoga County Animal Shelter contact Sandy Zanone at (518) 583-1080. Also, if you have questions about your pets, pet adoption or other related topics, send them to jsweet@skidmore.edu. If we do not have the answers, we will contact people who do!
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i myself have a dog named shilo like the movie . i got him from the place in corinth. hes 7 now and needs a home. he has a special pink blanket he nurses. he weighs about 46 lbs. hes rotten and in side, we need a home for him please help
thamk yo