Lakeview Seniors Pet Therapy

Location: Lakeview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

Date: Monday, March 02, 2015; 6:00-8:00 pm

I was on the wait list for both, this as well as the Bingo project, and finally around 4 pm there was an opening and I was able to sign up.  I arrived early since I wanted to meet with Pearl, but despite visiting her room twice, I wasn’t able to see her.  I came down to the main room and saw Elmer.  I inquired on his activities and he said that he was doing some consulting work for his agency.  It was nice to see that he was keeping himself sharp by staying busy.  The same perhaps could not be said about Jack, who seemed a bit distracted today.  Larry came down to join the group, but it was strange to see all of them without Jim, who has moved away to his own place.

I saw Emma being brought in and went over to chat with her. She was color coordinated in a blue jacket on a green shirt and a blue ribbon to tie her ponytail.  I asked if I could take a picture with her and she rambled about something.  But then I showed her my phone’s camera and she understood.  I asked if she was feeling lucky since Bingo was coming up, and she mentioned something about winning a table and chair, and how food tastes better on a table.  I am sure that these were just random collection of events.  I mentioned that I was there with the dogs and she mentioned a dog that her daughter has.

Before the project could start, I made one more visit to see Pearl.  She wasn't there and so I asked the nurse. She said that Pearl was visiting with another resident and so I went over to the other room.  I saw that Pearl was on her way back and I walked with her.  She said that other than a nose bleed she was doing okay.  Pearl makes jewelry and I asked if I could buy one.  She said certainly and asked me about the person it was for, the hair color, eyes color etc.  She suggested earrings, but I said that I wanted a bracelet.  She said there was one that wasn't complete since it required a hook.  I said if she could finish in 90 minutes, I would get it tonight.  She said that she would have it ready and there was also something that she wanted to read to me.  I said once I finished my project, I'll come back, take the bracelet and listen.

Reed

I went downstairs and saw that we had 3 dogs though Veronica, our Volunteer leader, told me that several had signed up.  I was paired with a beautiful black Scottish terrier named Reed and his owner Doyle.  Reed is 2 years old and Doyle told me that he had just had a haircut, where they also gave him a lovely orange bow to wear.  We started with David on the 2^nd floor, who was lying down, but got up as soon as he saw us and then proceeded to give Reed a thorough massage as usual.  Reed seemed to enjoy that and I mentioned that all dogs leave happy after visiting David.  We then stopped to see Polly and her roommate Dena since they always love to see dogs.  Reed though was ready to lie down after his massage and was on the floor staring out of the room.

Next stop was Loritta and she was in top form tonight.  Reed wouldn’t get up on the bed and when she heard that he had a haircut, she said that dogs should not have haircuts.  She said that her dogs never had one.  She talked about her house in ‘Hyde Park’, which she said had a trapezoid end, whatever that meant.  She said that she has always lived in the South or East in the city, never North or West.  In terms of travelling, she said that she had visited NYC and Boston when she was younger, saying that NYC people have no grass outside their houses since everything is so congested.  I said yeah, the houses don’t have a lawn, but that’s why they have ‘Central Park’.  She told us about a trip she had taken long time ago on ‘Lake Erie’ to Buffalo.  She said that she had never been to Wisconsin and never west of Oklahoma.  She went down south once, for her son’s graduation in Alabama, though she could never stay there because of the heat and humidity, preferring the cold of Chicago.  I asked where her son was nowadays and she said that he followed a woman to Georgia.  Can’t say that I blame him for that!

As much as we were enjoying this travelogue, Reed was now pulling us out and so we said bye to Loritta and moved to the 3^rd floor.  We stopped over at Jerry’s room, where all dogs love to go.  Jerry offered him bacon treats, but despite that Reed refused to get on the bed, though he did eat some that had fallen on the floor.  We left Jerry and then went to Hannah’s room where Fran and Veronica were chatting with her.  She said that she didn’t like dogs much since one had bitten her.  She then showed us Johnny B’s picture and told us that he had passed.  She once again told us the story about his kidnapping and how she had to pay $300 to free him.  I asked about her book and she said that it was with a publisher in NY.  I said that we would have a book signing one day and I would definitely get it.  It is called “Nine Lives of Johnny B”, and Veronica who works in publicity said that she would publicize it.  I said we could say that it’s not 1, not 2, not 3 but 9 lives.  Looks like we already have our tagline!

Pearl's artwork

I said goodbye to Doyle and Reed and went over to Pearl to collect my bracelet, which was lovely.  She also had matching earrings, which I wanted to get, but did not.  I looked at the other jewelry and it was outstanding.  She gets her supplies from ‘Ebay’ and assembles them.  She then read an article that she had written, depicting her journey through all Nursing homes and assisted living facilities, and how people are treated there.  It was hard hitting and she is quite eloquent.  She mentioned that she has sent it to some blogger for publication. She called herself a troublemaker and said that the folks here at Lakeview Nursing would be glad to see her go.  It seems that she has been championing the cause of a blind lady down the hallway, who she claims is being mistreated.  She said that she would leave this place someday, though she had no family nearby and no possessions besides what was in this room.  I said now that she had my email, she better stay in touch.  I left and she wished me a good day, a good week, a good month, good year and a good life.  I said that I would be back soon and thanked her for the bracelet.  She said that it was a beautiful piece and I better give it to someone equally beautiful.  “You don’t have to tell me that”, I muttered.

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