I am a Yellow Labrador Retriever. My hair, and my mom’s hair too, are more gray than this photo of me that was taken a few years ago in my younger days. Even though I am one of the older dogs participating in the program, each visit makes me feel young again. I love the excitement of a car ride, going to new places, seeing other friendly dogs. MOST of all visiting with the wonderful, loving patients, rejuvenates me to the energy of my youth.
I especially love to visit with the patients at Devereux Hospital. They brush me, walk me, hug me, pet me, and play with me. Some of them hold me like a lap dog – which I think I am, even though I weigh 65 pounds! On top of all of that, they give me treats which I devour.
A very touching visit took place on Valentine’s day when I gave a teenage girl lots of kisses. She told me that she thought she was going to have a really bad Valentine’s day until we came to visit her. Little did she know what a special Valentine’s day we enjoyed just because of her.
A favorite activity of mine is swimming. I could swim for hours and hours if Mom let me. Unfortunately, Mom makes me stop swimming eventually and makes me take a bath after I swim. Somehow, the water that I swim in to retrieve the tennis ball and the water that comes with shampoo are just not the same to me. I much prefer the water with the tennis ball to the water with the shampoo. After I have a bath everyone says how good I smell and how soft I feel and they love to rub me. So I guess it is not so bad and not too high of a price to pay for getting to swim.
Through His marvelously wonderful, creative, and caring ways, God arranged for Mom and me to participate in Faithful Friends. It is one of God’s great blessings that He has given us.
Photo is courtesy of Kathy Coke.