Location: Lakeview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
Date: Monday, July 06, 2015; 6:15-8:00 pm
 |
| Bodie had gotten a haircut |
I arrived to see that Veronica was giving instructions to a
huge mob. Plus, we had a lot of doggies
in attendance tonight. I saw that Bodie
and Charta from last week were here as well. Bodie had a haircut and was looking like a
different dog. Charta was wearing a pink
bandana to make sure people identified her as a girl. I was paired with Susan and her doggie, a
sweet ‘Pitbull’ named Ducky. She was 3 years old and had the most
beautiful brown coat and soulful brown eyes.
We started on 2nd floor with David who was trying
to give her a massage. But Ducky was a
bit lazy tonight and preferred to lie down on the floor instead. I asked David about his weekly dog photography idea, where he would take pictures of all the dogs visiting each week and compile in a book; and once again he said that he should do it. He said that he has
been taking pictures for 50 years. I
said that he must have seen the evolution of the camera and he said yes. I asked if he could develop film and he said
of course! I guess shame on me for asking.
We stopped and met with the lady who always looks like she is going out
for an elegant evening, and of course she was wearing pearls. Her roommate was awake and said hello as well.
We stopped in the corridor with the
gentleman who had been wearing the dog shirt last week. He was talking about ‘Boxers’ and how smart they are. Ducky was lying on the floor lazily. I asked
if a ‘Boxer’ would be a ‘Boxer’ if raised amongst other breeds
and Susan said yes. It’s interesting that
with dogs its “nature vs nurture”.
We stopped to meet with the lady who last week had
mentioned her sister with the ‘Pitbull’.
I thought that she would like Ducky and
she did invite Ducky to climb up on the bed. But when she did, this lady got scared and so
we took Ducky down. I said that perhaps
she should stick with smaller dogs for her.
Next up was Polly and she was in good spirits. She mentioned how her brother had come to see
her on July 4th and had taken her out for barbeque. I asked what she had, and she said beans,
potatoes, wings; and some pie which was like “Banana Nut”, but not quite. I asked when he would come next and she said
soon. I asked if she had travelled much
and she said to Biloxi, Mississippi. I
asked if she had been to California and she said no, but she has visited NYC. She said that she wanted to go to Paris and I
said me too. It was nice to see that Polly’s
roommate Dena was doing well.
 |
| Ducky was being lazy |
Next up was Loritta and I asked how her week had been, and
she responded dryly - "Same as
today, lying in bed looking at the walls". Ooh Loritta. She had a red and blue comforter with white
sheets and I said she was certainly being patriotic so close to the 4th. We left and were with a lady in the corridor,
when another group stopped by with a ‘Poodle/Terrier’
mix named Rocco. Suddenly Ducky came
awake as the two sniffed each other. It sure looked like a budding romance and
the funny thing was that both of them had one white paw each. We went to the 3rd floor and first
stop was in the community room where one gentleman that I had seen before kept
saying that his brother Harry was asking about me and he had given him my
number. While obviously an illusion, he
kept repeating that and it did give me a sensation of being in a supernatural
movie. We visited 2 ladies, one of whom
kept talking about her ‘Poodles’ who
had been kidnapped. She said that she
had bought them from England. I asked
where they were taken, and she said that they had lived on the edge of Cook County,
and so were under the jurisdiction of Chicago police. It didn't seem to me she had much respect for
that.
Next stop was with another lady we hadn't visited before and
she was happy to see us. Ducky – who was
awake now - got in her bed and even licked her. The lady's roommate was crying and the lady
says that she does that from time to time. It did seem to be upsetting Ducky, and so we
got out of there. We stopped at Jon’s
and Ducky got a treat there, even doing a “trick”
now that a treat was on the line. We
visited Hannah and Ducky’s new boyfriend Rocco was there with Fran and his
owner. I told Hannah that she had
promised to get better and she said that she was working on it. She also said that
she was meeting with her lawyer tomorrow.
Her roommate was reading a book and she said that she loves reading. She said that she savors a good book and wants
to stay with the characters for a long time.
She asked me if I read and I said that for the last 10 years I have been
listening to books. She said that it's
not the real thing. I said that while I agreed, it was more convenient while
walking or while on the train. I then
told her about my favorite book – “The
Shadow Of The Wind” - and the way it was read on the ‘Audiobook’ including the accompanying music. I said that it was the best way to experience
that story.
It was time to go and I thanked Susan for coming. All of the dogs were leaving, including
Charta. I learnt that one of the
volunteers was returning to Lakeview Nursing after 4 years. She had been living
in Indiana but visiting Chicago every week. It was nice for her to spend her Monday's
here. I chatted with Veronica and Fran
before leaving and we talked about my travels and other things. I told Veronica how Hannah had asked about my "pretty companion" from last time
and I was sure that she had meant her. Pearl
had left and I missed visiting with her.
But it had been nice to see everyone else.
*All the client's names have been changed in
order to respect their privacy
No comments:
Post a Comment