A Dog's Work is Never Done

I know that it is going to be a special day when my mom brushes my fur coat, cleans my ears with wet stuff that makes me want to shake my head, and brushes my teeth with poultry-flavored toothpaste. I like everything but the wet stuff in my ears. I try to escape by running into my private kennel space; yet, she always manages to coax me out.

A special day for me is when I go to work. When she ties my official Therapy Dog International (TDI) scarf around my neck and places my Therapy Dog badge on my collar, I know that it is time to go to work. I begin to make wining sounds of joy when I realize that we are just about there.

As we walk through the parking lot towards the front door at Eagle Crest, we notice that there was a lot of activity. There was a delivery truck sitting with its blinkers flashing while the driver was nowhere to be found. There were maintenance people scrambling around working on the lawn. Each of them stopped what they were doing to greet us. Even though I did not understand what they were doing, they knew exactly why I was there.

As we walked into the building that day, we noticed a man who was working hard washing the windows. He seemed as if he needed some attention from me. There was a bit of sadness that surrounded him. My mom led me through the doors to check-in and pick up a room list of visits for the day.

We were on the way to our first visit when that man approached us to ask if he could pet me. My instincts told me that he needed me that day. He told us about the recent loss of his father. While mourning his father, he also lost his dog to cancer. He loves and misses them so much. We listened to him as he continued to pet me with such sadness in his eyes. We understood that emotion as we recently lost Maddie (my 16 year-old Golden Retriever sister) to canine lymphoma a few weeks earlier. She passed away peacefully in her sleep. Our family misses her so much. She taught me so much about how to care and love our humans unconditionally. 

We therapy dogs not only care for residents in nursing homes, patients in hospitals, and seniors in facilities, but also for employees, staff, and families. A therapy dog must always be ready to take the time for others when in need. We don't have solutions to problems, but we can listen and care. Every person is valuable just because of who they are. This is how we can make a difference. I am so grateful for the humans we serve.