Lakeview Seniors Pet Therapy

Location: Lakeview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

Date: Monday, January 21, 2013; 6:30-8:00 pm

For past few months, I have had a strong urge to own a dog.  The only thing preventing me from doing so is my reluctance to take on this responsibility.  While it sounds counter-intuitive, what I mean is that while I would like to have a dog to play with in the evening when I come home, being responsible for a life scares me a bit.  Hopefully someday I will overcome this and have a pet, but for now, Senior’s Pet Therapy is an excellent project for me to spend an evening with a dog.

Alvy: I see the resemblance

Similar to my previous visit for this project, my friend Irina had also signed up and we arrived to find the usual Monday evening buzz at Lakeview Nursing.  The Bingo group was getting ready and I spotted Emma at a table, wearing a bright pink sweatshirt.  I had promised her that I would stop by with a dog for her to pet, but she seemed so focused on her Bingo board that I did not want to interrupt.  We moved to the inside hallway and I looked at the wonderful dogs who had assembled for the evening.  First up were Hunter and Alvy.  Our volunteer leader Jessica and her husband Sam had bought two of their dogs, Shane and Chloe.  We immediately bonded with Alvy, and his owner Anna told us that he was named after Woody Allen’s character in ‘Annie Hall’.  This was fantastic.  Jessica paired Irina and me with Anna and Alvy and after the usual instructions; we set off to find some dog lovers.

On the second floor we found a room with three ladies, Odelia, Victoria and Dema.  They welcomed Alvy and he seemed to enjoy their company as well.  In order for this project to work, the dog must be willing to let him or herself be petted.  Alvy had no problems with that and after spending some time there, we moved on.  As we went from room to room, Irina's and my job was to go inside to check if the residents of the room wanted to pet a dog.  Today was not turning out to be that great since many were either sleeping, or refused to see us.  We finally reached Ruby’s room.  She is a big fan of dogs and when we were there last with Daisy, we had learned that she liked giving out treats.  Today was no exception, and she tried to get Alvy to climb on to the bed by offering him some treats.  The poor guy was so well trained that he refused and even looked at us confused.  Since the rules regarding not letting pets on bed are strict, Anna did not encourage him, though Ruby was trying her best.  Alvy did manage to get a few, and before we left I asked Ruby about her slippers, remembering that she was wearing a brilliant shade of purple the last time.  She was surprised that I remembered and pointed them out.

Alvy and Snoopy: His Annie Hall!

It is typical to see other groups walking about the hallways and we usually exchange notes by pointing them towards the residents who like pets.  As we exited Ruby’s room, we came across a really big dog called Snoopy.  We told her owner that he should take her in to see Ruby so that she could get some treats, and he said that is the last thing Snoopy should have since he was trying to get her to lose weight!  Next we went in to see Hannah, who is a cat person, but likes dogs as well.  The last time we were there, Hannah had pulled out her cat’s pictures, a jet black creature called Johnny B, and when reminded, she did it again.  Then we went to see William, who used to be a dog owner himself, before ending up in Jerry’s room.  From our previous visit, we knew that not only did he like dogs; he was one of the more popular residents.  He has the best decorated room, with stuffed toys lining up the top of his television, and a wall full of pictures.  I initially thought all of them were his family, but realized that it was volunteers, visitors and other people who worked over there.  I saw a picture of Jessica and Sam at their wedding and was astounded to learn that their wedding theme was running a 31 mile marathon – in their wedding attire – before getting married at the finish line.  Of all the wedding related stories I have heard, this one was the most novel.

After Jerry’s room we moved down to the first floor and visited Odessa and Vera, who absolutely adored Alvy.  Unlike Daisy, Alvy was not as tired despite the warm interiors.  Our final stop of the evening was with Jean, who told us a story of her dogs – pitbulls – one of whom she rescued from a death row inmate.  We enjoyed visiting with Jean and for whatever reasons; Alvy bonded with her the most.  Perhaps it was her socks which had hearts on them!  I mentioned that to Jean and said that it would be my mission to find similar ones for myself, especially to wear at work.  We all laughed and then it was time to leave.

Alvy is ready to face the cold outside

It had been a great visit and most of the people we had met had truly loved Alvy.  There were a few residents who did not like our intrusion and one of them even threatened to complain about me.  Well, you can’t win them all.  A few days later when Jessica sent an email to thank us, I did mention that it would be more convenient for us to note down the room numbers of those who enjoyed visits, so as to distribute to volunteers and not disturb the residents who did not want us in their rooms.  She said that it was a great idea, but since many of them make frequent trips to the hospitals and back, it was not certain that they would end up in the same room.  Nonetheless, our current system worked and I do not mind knocking on each door to ask if the resident wants to pet a dog – even if some wanted to, well…set the dogs on me!


*All the client's names have been changed in order to respect their privacy