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I accompany my miniature poodle, Pouf, when she
visits my husband at the nursing home. When I have
to leave her home for some reason, I quickly learn
that no one is interested in seeing me. "Where is
your dog?" are the disappointed pleas I am greeted
with on those occasions. A few times, she has gotten
away from me and ran off into someone's room. I'm
scared to death that the poor patient is going to
have a heart attack when they see her--although
she's nothing but a blur as she runs by--but on each
occasion I found her up on the bed being hugged by a
bed-bound patient. The most rewarding experience we
shared was with a gentleman who had had a stroke and
was failing. He was in a semi-conscious state.
When Pouf and I approached him, the wife said to her
husband, not expecting a response, "Look, it's Pouf
and she's here to see you!" I couldn't believe it!
The gentleman opened his eyes and smiled. As soon
as he located Pouf, he put out his hand towards
her. Of course, I picked up Pouf and let him touch
her and they shared one of the most touching
interactions I have ever experienced. All of us,
except Pouf and this gentleman who only had eyes for
each other, were crying for joy. It was beautiful.
Arlene
I just lost my mother on
Dec. 13th after taking care of her 24/7. I am so
lost in the house, there is a deafening silence, I
still keep checking her chair and her bed to see if
she is okay. Sometimes I don't know how to get
through the next 5 minutes. But I got a new little
puppy, three days ago, a golden retriever. She is
gorgeous and I named her "Bella". But after the
second day, I just couldn't deal with her and I
wanted to get rid of her.... I couldn't even pet
her. I felt so guilty it made me sick I felt like I
couldn't love her because I miss my mother so much.
I feel like I lost my freedom after giving so much
to my mother I wanted to give myself time first, and
I feel like I made a decision to buy her too soon
after I lost my mother.
But I got a sign from my mother,
it's really unbelievable, that I asked her for a
sign and received it. And after that my whole
attitude about Bella has changed. I really love her
and we are bonding every day, I think she will
really help me get through this
My cat, Moishe, loves when I
knit. He climbs on my lap and hands the yarn to me
through his teeth. Well, during a back attack I
wasn't able to knit. While in bed, he very carefully
brought my yarn, my needles and a cat expression on
his face like "what's up? No knitting?"
C.H.
Before my mother entered the
last stage of Alzheimer's which she is currently in,
her dog, Inky, was one of her few joys left. The
black beagle/lab mix gave her unconditional love,
didn't get aggravated or frustrated with her, as I
sometimes did, and accepted her as she was. Inky
didn't care what disease she had, what stage she was
in, what she remembered, or what she forgot. In
fact, Inky would be very grateful if Mom forgot that
she just gave her a bite of her food and gave her
more.
After we would do our nightly
routine of bathroom, cleaning teeth, nightclothes
on, etc..., she would always ask "where's my baby?"
and would sleep much better with Inky in the bed
with her. Last April, when Mom had to start sleeping
in a hospital bed, poor Inky tried to jump up on the
bed a couple times, but realized that the bed was
too small and the rails made it difficult to jump up
and down. Unfortunately, the days were over of
sleeping with Mommy in her bed.
K.F.
Someone said that cats are
"aloof" and "unfriendly" - but apparently, my cats
didn't hear it! I had a bad reaction to a
medication - it made me very dizzy - I tried to
reach for the wall with my hand to soften the fall,
but my hand missed. My shoulder, however, made
perfect contact! I even passed out for a few
minutes. When I woke, I screamed with pain. I went
to sit on the couch; my two cats followed me.
Georgie sat on the floor crying, and my Toby sat
next to me stroking my face. The next week, after
having my torn rotator cuff surgically repaired, the
cats took turns taking care of me. One would go to
sleep next to the pillow, the other at the foot of
the bed. In the morning, they would switch places,
in the afternoon...and so on. (Toby passed away in
November of 2006 at age 16, from cancer. Georgie now
has a little brother - ZiggyZoom). I take care of
them, and they do the same for me. We're a great
team !
E..K.
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