At Work

Each time I visit the folks at the nursing home with James, I leave knowing that I have made many people happy. It’s a wonderful feeling.  Today, James approached a man in the physical therapy room.  The man’s arms were outstretched beckoning James to come closer.  As he did, the man took James’ face in his hands and simply said, Oh, I love dogs.  They are wonderful.  They are always there for you. It was the way he said it – the expression in his voice…  It made me feel so good that James was there to make this man happy.

James has had a very busy schedule this past week. Along with turning into a celebrity after the article on him doing his therapy dog visiting at Linda Manor was published in the Daily Hampshire Gazette, then representing Bright Spot Therapy Dogs, Inc. at the Dementia Care Fair at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, he delighted the Highland Valley Elder Services Board of Directors at a presentation I gave to their group on Monday afternoon.

James greeted Board members as they arrived for the meeting and they could see instantly the qualities that make a dog a therapy dog:  friendly, well-behaved, completely controllable and predictable – and happy doing his job. As usual, he was dressed in his uniform:  official Bright Spot vest and ID badge.  Along with meeting a therapy dog in person, the Board viewed our great slideshow depicting our Bright Spots in action in a variety of settings, as I spoke about our certification process and the way we work with facilities to start therapy dog programs.  The presentation lasted about 50 minutes with questions and answers, and, of course, throughout it all, James lay down by the feet of one of the Board members until given his cue that it was time to leave.  He left with the sound of roaring applause.  A talk just wouldn’t be the same without him there!

Highland Valley Elder Services, Inc. works with twenty-four towns throughout Western Massachusetts. It is a non-profit organization that links people and communities to resources for quality long living.  Board members could see through the photos in the slideshow the important role therapy dogs play in bringing comfort and caring to folks who are no longer able to have a dog of their own.

The Dementia Care Initiative of Northampton, MA, invited Bright Spot Therapy Dogs, Inc. to participate in the Dementia Care Fair held yesterday at Cooley Dickinson Hospital. The folks at the Dementia Care Initiative believe strongly that therapy dogs can make a difference in the lives of people stricken with Dementia.  James and another Bright Spot named Tristan (a handsome silver Standard Poodle) represented Bright Spot at the Fair.  We ran a slideshow of our Bright Spots in action visiting with patients in area healthcare facilities so people could see in photos how much the people enjoyed interacting with the therapy dogs.  James and Tris looked very sharp decked out in their official Bright Spot blue therapy dog vests and ID badges – and certainly were a big hit amongst those attending the Fair.

When James arrived at the nursing home today to make his usual Thursday morning rounds, the red carpet was rolled out – and the halls were abuzz more then usual. In the main hallway, framed and hanging on the wall, was the two-page newspaper article covering James visiting with the patients, complete with photos.  Three weeks ago, we were shadowed by a reporter from the Hampshire Gazette and their staff photographer which resulted in a wonderfully written article about therapy dog James.  Here is the article for you to enjoy:  http://www.gazettenet.com/2011/04/26/puppy-perks-therapy-dogs-brighten-days-and-enhance-health-studie.  I’m very proud of my boy James!

The chief administrator of the nursing home met me in the hall when we arrived, telling me that they had received many calls about the article with people saying they thought it was wonderful that such a program is held there.  In addition, Bright Spot has received several calls from people wanting to get their dogs certified as therapy dogs.  I was pleased, as well, that the reporter included the name of the training center where I teach therapy dog training workshops – The Collared Scholar .  Hopefully, people will sign up for training, as a first step, to become well prepared to start this type of work.

When James and I entered her room, our new patient was in bed. She appeared to be sleeping.  As we quietly approached her bedside, she opened her eyes and said, Is that James who’s come to visit me? And, so the visit began.  She was in bed, she said, because she had a headache.  I asked if she’d like James to come up on the bed next to her.  She didn’t respond to my question…  James sat by her bedside – and she was able to reach his head to pet him.  I feel she doesn’t know him enough yet to have him up on her bed.  She smiled as she pet his head – and started to tell me about the two dogs she and her husband had; then, started talking about growing up in the country on a farm – having a large brown and white pig, goats, and chickens.  I love animals, she said, all kinds.  All the while she was petting James’ head and ears.

I had expected to extend the length of our second visit to 20-25 minutes, but before we knew it, 35 minutes had gone by all the while our patient Marie telling us stories about the animals in her life.  When I said that it was time for James to leave – and asked her if she’d like James to come back and visit next week, she replied by saying, James is a really nice dog.  I’d really like him to come back.