Today while James and I were visiting with our Alzheimer’s patient Constance, an aide came into her room to tell her that her daughter would be coming to visit soon. She seemed not to hear the aide – and kept interacting with James… petting his head, holding his leash, talking to him – reciting her usual mantra, James is visiting me. James is my friend. James likes me. All the while she was smiling and laughing.
While this exchange was going on, Constance’s daughter arrived. Look, I said, your daughter is here. Not looking up, she kept petting James and talking to him. Again, I said, Constance, your daughter is here. To which she then replied, That’s impossible. My daughter never comes to see me. Her daughter said, I’m here, Mom. And, I came to see you yesterday, too. With a blank stare in her daughter’s direction, Constance said, This is James. He’s my friend. He comes to visit me. He likes me. And she continued to happily interact with her canine visitor.
What is it about a dog that can reach the inner workings of the mind – that a human is unable to reach…
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