🎵 Scooby-doo-bee-doo…ooh baby…oops, wrong opening chorus. Hi-ya…Sam here. While I can’t sing this post, I can share some of the adventures from last week in my triumphant return to hospital and West Pines. Now that I’m finally back to 110% it was nice to get back in the saddle and visit with my friends.
Naturally mom said I had to be spiffed up. Ugh…not a bath, mom!! Seems like the nurses like a sweet smelling boy so I didn’t mind too much when she put a blend of relaxing essential oils on me after the bath. Chicks seem to dig that and well…when there are hugs and “atta boy’s,” how can I refuse?
It only took a few nanoseconds for me to remember some of my favorite peeps who I’ve regularly visited in the past. Mom thought we should go visit the Lab and soon there was a crowd of the regulars welcoming me back. One of the managers is a favorite of mine so I spent a long time visiting with her. I sure have missed her so it was a great way to start out what would end up become a long shift.
After our swing through the Lab, we made it down to the surgical reception area for another memorable visit. I like going through this area providing comfort to peeps waiting for their loved ones to get out of surgery before moving up to their rooms. One lady with a mini-peep tagging along lit up like a candle when she saw me. She told my mom they loved us poodle-y dogs. What I loved was her mini peep…a twenty-two month old granddaughter who was exactly my height and the two of us had a great time visiting. She had this weird thing in her mouth (mom said it was a nuk) that I was kind of interested in at first but realized the chubby little hands that pet me ever so sweetly were much better than some slobbery chew toy. I spent a long time with her and her grandma was very happy for my therapy.
I had a lot of dates with nurses encounters all over the hospital and it all began to come back to me. The ladies in the gift shop were as nice as always and told me about their summer adventures. I listened and wagged my tail at all the right times. They seemed to appreciate my listening skills. They were equally impressed I remembered where the treats are stashed.
The next day we went to West Pines. The director who shepherds us around to the various buildings on campus is one of my favorite hospital peeps. When we arrived at the first building, it was like I’d never been away. A number of patients were super excited to see me. They asked me all sorts of questions…how old was I, what was I, you know, stuff like that. I was the ‘pawfect’ gentlemen and let them all hug me and tell stories about the dogs that were in their life. Then there was one woman who just sat back on the other side of the room and watched me. When mom asked her if she’d like to pet me, her face lit up with a huge smile. I pranced sauntered over and sat in front of her and looked her in the eye. She began to talk to me and that made my tail wag. Her fingers were soft and gentle on my ears as she pet me and we both relaxed like old friends. When it came time to leave, mom offered her hand to shake and wish her well but her arms withdrew and her head turned, much like a turtle. Her face grew dark as she looked away. Clearly she has issues with people and touching and it left me sad. Everyone likes my mom but the patient only had eyes for me I guess. Hopefully the staff will help her learn to trust again, in others and in herself. I liked visiting with her.
All the way home, mom just couldn’t get over that young woman. The pain in her eyes when she folded up on herself left her very sad. It seemed my therapy work wasn’t over even though we left the hospital. I wanted to give mom some therapy when we got home. I stayed with her and she pet me. Whenever my tail wagged, she’d smile and say I was the bestest boy in the world. All the attention she gave me really cheesed Elsa off but I knew mom needed cheering up. She kept whispering “but for the grace of god, there go I.” Not sure what she meant by that, but was glad I could be there for her when she needed me. Ater making her feel better, I relented played with the Ninja and then took a nice long nap. It sure felt good…both the making peeps smile part as well as the long, rejuvenating snooze. Life is good around the Ranch and this work makes us really aware of that.
Live, love, bark! 🐾
Hi-ho, hi-ho, it’s off to West Pines we go.🎶 After many patient and staff visits (and more than a few ‘dates with nurses’) at hospital yesterday, Sam is off to West Pines this morning. We had loads of interaction with all sorts of folks yesterday from two year olds to eighty plus year olds including a surprising number of visits at hospice. Since it was the first time this summer that Sam has been back, I wasn’t sure how he’d do. But my boy proved he’s still got game and was only slightly off kilter. I tried to make yesterday’s shift as easy as possible and he seemed to enjoy the lighter duty. His hospital friends we always visit were very happy to see his sweet face. When I saw the smiles he put on people’s faces, I know he was back in his element despite being tuckered out once we returned home. Visits normally take a lot of energy out of him, but after a good night’s sleep, he’s raring to go today and ran toward the garage before our morning constitution.
Happy mid-week. May the slide toward the weekend be an easy one for you.
Over the weekend, my family celebrated my parents’ 70th wedding anniversary. Yes, 70. freaking. years! All the siblings and their spouses enjoyed a lovely celebratory get-together. Just thinking about the smiles across my parents’ faces as they looked around and saw their children, a couple of grandchildren and a great-grand and a half (one niece is expecting any day now) was beyond heartwarming. Congrats Mom and Dad!
While we made the rounds visiting with a new hospice doctor, all the nurses and a few visitors, we ended up spending a lot of time with a fairly young-looking woman and her daughter at hospice. It was almost an afterthought visit, as we’d seen so many people, Sam was petty tired and their room was full of family members paying their respects. In those circumstances, I don’t generally intrude, especially when the end is so close (according to the nurse), but when “Kate” came out into the hallway and said how much she could really benefit from a visit, how could we refuse? “Of course,” I replied, “we’d be more than happy to spend some time with you.” She indicated the patient was her husband, which totally surprised me since I erroneously thought the man in the bed was her father. A daughter came out and we all convened in the middle of the hallway. Sam seemed refreshed and eager to check them out and when the woman knelt down in front of him, he patiently gazed as deeply into her eyes as I’ve ever seen. She teared up and said how much she needed him that moment. I just smiled not knowing if there’s something I should say, or even what to say.