Location: Lakeview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
Date: Monday, November 4, 2013; 6:15-7:45 pm
I had been away for the weekend
and so it was nice to come back and attend this event. I arrived at Lakeview Nursing to find three
dogs had assembled in the small waiting area near the entrance and seemed to be
behaving well with each other. Their
names were Lucy, Cody and Cally; and Lucy was even wearing a name-tag on her
sweater. I played with them for some
time and then went over to the main activities room where the residents were
preparing for Bingo. I walked over to
say hello to Jim and Jack and asked where Larry was since I hadn't seen him the
last few visits. Jim mentioned that Larry wasn’t doing well, which was sad since he does seem to enjoy his time with the
others. My buddy Elmer was there and he
asked if I was there to bring them luck.
I said that someone like him should be making his own luck! Jim and I chatted about the ‘Bears’ game that was on tonight and as
usual, he was skeptical about their season.
The residents were coming in fast, including Emma, wearing the cutest
pink hair band. I asked how she had got
it and she replied, “Oh yes”. Aah, Emma.
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| Cally |
The Bingo group was hurting for
volunteers, but unlike last time, I decided to proceed with my original
plan. I went back to my group and Maria,
our Volunteer Leader, said that while 7 dogs were signed up, it looked like we
were going to have to do with the 3 that were there. She went over the usual instructions and I
was paired with Cally and her owner Marcie, whose two kids were there as
well. So it was a big group that set out
for the 3rd floor where we would start our visit. Our first stop was with Jerry and I knew that
Cally would like the treats that he always has with him.
Sure enough, there were some bacon strips that Cally devoured with
great pleasure. Jane, who calls the
Bingo game along with her husband Jim, was there as well and I learned that Jerry was in fact her brother-in-law. They
visit him every Monday and while one of them is calling the game downstairs,
the other is usually up in Jerry’s room giving him company. Jane asked where I was from and when she
learned that I grew up in Mumbai, mentioned how she and Jim had visited back in
2008, and had just left before the terrorist attacks.
We moved on from Jerry’s room and
started visiting some of the regular’s, like Odessa who
probably doesn't understand much English, but is always smiling when we walk in
with a dog. This was in contrast to
another lady whom I saw in a room and entered to ask if she would like to see a
dog. She couldn't hear me properly and
kept asking me to repeat. Finally when
she saw Cally she yelled out in alarm, “No
dog, no dog”, and we beat a hasty retreat.
But this was not due to Cally, who was one of the sweetest dogs that I
have seen at this program. She is 4
years old and has been with the family since she was a 5 weeks pup. Marcie said that they have another 7 year old
dog called Grace – Grace Cally, get it – and they had got Cally to give Grace
company when they had to put an older dog down.
Before adopting Cally they had to foster her for a short while and even
then the agency had come for a visit to give them the clearance. I told Marcie that I would be heartbroken if
I fell in love with someone like Cally and was refused permission to adopt due
to whatever reasons. But I guess the
adoption agencies want to ensure that the dogs would be taken proper care of.
We then visited with Ruby who
adores dogs. She said that she was 93
and has pretty much seen everything that life has to offer. She mentioned that during the great
depression of 1930s, there were several strays on the streets and she and her
siblings had brought one home. Their
mother had let them keep the dog and even though food had been scarce, they had
fed the dog scrapes. I said that
after all the dog is a part of your family and you would treat the dog as any
other family member. We talked about how
some people are mean to their dogs and abuse them. I said its not just about being mean, it’s
about being a sick individual if you abuse a harmless creature. Hence the need for the home visit by the adoption agency I suppose.
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| Cally playing with Gloria |
I also chatted with the two kids
who were in our party and the boy was in 7th grade and the girl in 5th. I asked who they had dressed up as for
Halloween and the girl said that she was a black cat, with the rest of her
girlfriends dressed up as other cats in the litter. The boy said that he had
dressed up as a ‘troll’ and that it
was complicated. I said that I knew what
a troll was and he said that that were doing a “Quest for the take one bowl” with his friends. Now that had me stumped and I asked him about
it. He said that they went after people
who write “take one candy only” on
their jars, and their objective was to purposely take as many candies as
possible from such people. Boys will be
boys! Our next stop was with Loritta, who loves talking about dogs, and this time it was her German Shepherds
and Rottweilers. We went to see Odelia who
asked if Cally did any tricks and indeed she did, “sitting” when asked to, though the boy was now teaching her how to
shake paws. We went to see Gloria and
both, Gloria and Cally loved each other.
Cally climbed on her bed and relaxed.
It seemed like she was settling in to stay for a long time and started
playing, wherein she wanted folks to scratch her tummy. Gloria was certainly Cally’s favorite stop
and Marcie even took a picture of them together.
By this point in the evening
Cally was getting tired, though you wouldn't have been able to tell. She was still calm and friendly, but Marcie
said that her enthusiasm was dwindling.
I said that after her behavior tonight Cally could well be a therapy
dog. They were all ready to leave and I
asked the kids if they had enjoyed the visit.
While the boy was non-committal, the girl shyly admitted that she had
indeed had some fun. I saw them off and
then went back to the Bingo room to see that Emma was a winner for the
evening. I hung out with Jack, Jim and
Elmer, who had also won some prizes. He
said that I had “transported” my luck
to them and just as he did that, he won again, though he had to give the prize
away. Soon the game ended and they all went back to their respective
rooms. I chatted with Jim for some time,
as well as with Fran, who always asks me about Make-A-Wish Foundation. It had been a wonderful evening, and a nice return back to Chicago for me. And I had
met Cally. What a dog!
*All the client's names have been changed in order to respect their privacy
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