James was back making his usual Thursday rounds at the nursing home. He seemed extra energetic today, so after making his way through the physical therapy room, down around one wing of the first floor and up to the second floor, we finished off visiting several folks on the other wing of the first floor.
I always watch to see if James wants to keep going. Once in a while, he has an off day where I can pretty much tell he’d rather not visit at all (after all, people get like that sometimes, too). In these rare cases, we might make a couple of quick visits to key people, then leave. Other times, after we’ve been visiting awhile, he’ll start turning his head away from people – rather than toward them – and look up at me, as much as to say, I’m ready to leave now. It’s very important to watch for these signs and respond appropriately. Ignoring them, could turn even the best of therapy dogs off of visiting completely. I feel dogs are a lot like people in this respect – just needing to take a break and come back another time.
Today, I received several requests from therapists to stop in to visit specific people – so, I kept a careful watch on James. He showed all the signs of being a happy fellow – tail wagging, head moving forward to engage with the patients. When James is happy, he literally has a smile on his face. So, on we went for an extra long time.
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