Talent Show

"You've got a friend in me..... You've got a friend in me...."

Chester does a lot of firsts with Melissa. And yesterday was his FIRST TALENT SHOW.  Schreiber Pediatric was hosting their annual summer camp for kids, and Thursday was talent show day. 

I have to say .... and I am not biased in the least ..... Melissa and Chester were the stars of the show.  Paws down.   I mean, really, they were.

The gymnasium was PACKED with kids and adults.  The noise and activity were off the charts when we strolled in. Chester was attacked by countless arms, hands, fingers, wanting to touch him. When we found Melissa --- he literally climbed up into the safety of her lap, slimed her face with kisses and said, "My Melissa My Melissa My Melissa....HELP!"  That was the beginning.

Chester and I waited in the hallway and out on the grass (having last minute potty breaks before the big show) talking with Melissa's very cool little brother, Robert, about his favorite subject.....trains.

When Melissa's name was called we hurried in to take our place next to Melissa.

Peg wheeled Melissa in.  

Peg is SuperMom ---she is SuperMom.
I think she should wear a red cape with SM on it.

Peg cued the music.

 "You've got a friend in me.... You've got a friend in me...."

Chester took his spot, sitting  next to Melissa's wheel chair.

She patted her lap, "Up Chester!"

He bounced UP, paws on her lap, kisses on her face.

The crowd CHEERED.

"SIT Chester!"  She gave the hand signal for sit.  

He sat.

Melissa gave him a treat from her treat pouch :-). 

MORE CHEERS

"DOWN Chester!" Melissa pointed to the ground with authority!

Down he went, like a champ.

THE CROWD ROARED.
 

Next SuperMom brought out the GIANT BLUE RUBBER PEANUT that Melissa uses for her floor exercises.  SM helped Melissa into her position. Melissa now looked like a very CUTE  human bridge,
 for Chester to go under and over.

I commanded --- "UNDER!" 
Chester looked at me.....  He went around.  :-) 

ha ha, funny boy.

Try again.  I handed Robert a treat.  He knelt on one side of Melissa holding the tempting yummy treat.  I was on the other side with silly Chester.

"Chester UNDER!"  He army crawled under. 

The CROWD WENT WILD.

Next.... "OVER CHESTER!"

Over he bounded ~~ he soared and smiled at the crowd.  This was ridiculously FUN.

He had so much FUN he did it twice.

(Melissa was relieved he did not flatten her like a pancake -- see cub scout post)

More APPLAUSE.

Next talent....Melissa sat in her wheel chair and threw the ball for Chester.  And he retrieved.  You may not think this is a HUGE talent for a Golden Retriever ( I mean it's in the name, & the genes, for heaven's sake).  However,  Melissa is the one that taught Chester to retrieve. She did.  The only person he consistently retrieves for (as in brings the ball BACK) is Melissa.

My favorite part comes next. 

 The GRAND FINALE.
 (drum roll please)

Melissa stands up from her wheel chair.
 

LOOK MA, NO HANDS! NO SUPPORT!

 (SM is behind Melissa, just in case laughter erupts and we all lose our balance --- it happens :-) )

 Melissa balances by herself, no crutches, no walker,
 and  throws the ball for Chester. 

WOW.   AMAZING.  DAZZLING.

clap clap clap clap clap

Chester trots back to Melissa's side,

she treats him from her treat pouch that is strapped around her waste.

"Good Boy!" she says to him.

 Smiles are HUGE.

We all stand in front of the crowd.  Robert...SuperMom...Melissa...Chester....Me

TaDa!

Melissa and Chester take a bow together.

(I think Robert did too  ...  Little brothers like to do things like that :-)

Three Times they take a bow.

APPLAUSE

While the crowd is still roaring Chester and Melissa exit the room side by side...

"You've got a friend in me....You've got a friend in me..."


Best Talent Show ever.....

Lightening Storms and Fireworks!

I almost forgot this "tail". 

A number of weeks ago as I was driving home from a Chester appointment ....I said to myself,   I need to write this down, so I don't forget. 

I forgot to write it down...and I forgot.  Don't you just hate that.  (God has such a sense of humor --- I mean, there I was visiting our dear friends who struggle terribly with Alzheimer's and Dementia and then I FORGET what I wanted to remember.  Oye.  )

I remembered.  Just now ... I remembered what I forgot.  Just now, when the thunder boomed and the lightening lit up the night sky.  I remembered. 

We were visiting Willard.  Chester was laying on the bed atop the familiar red blanket, snuggled close to his friend.  Willard stroked Chester's paws.  His head.  The golden feathery fur on his neck.  I sat in the bedside chair silently watching and enjoying the moments.  Just a typical quiet visit.

And then Willard spoke to me ever so clearly.

"Did you hear the thunder last night?"

My jaw dropped open.   "Yes!  I did!  It was so loud."

"The lightening, it was like FIREWORKS!" he said.

"Oh my, yes.   Like Fireworks."  I smiled.

.........

 A miracle conversation....

Lighting up the whole room.

 Like Fireworks.

Don't you just love fireworks!

Mrs. UP (Mrs. Grumpness)

Mrs. Grumpness, Mrs. UP,(sounds like an oxymoron), is one of the familar faces we see each week at Willow Valley.   I call her Mrs. UP because she totally looks like the identical twin to the grumpy-round-faced-slumped-grumbling-aging-man in the movie UP.  (great movie bytheway)

For the past year or so, every time we visit Willow Valley and walk towards Mrs. UP, she says, "No, NO, NO, grumble, &%*#&%#*" .  I hardly get the words out to ask if she would like to pet the dog ~~ when she shakes her head and says the above stuff.  It's OK, we understand,  --- Chester keeps waggin' and I keep walking, moving on towards others in the room who can hardly wait to touch their 4-legged friend.  Though Mrs. UP resists our love and wags, we love her still. :-)

Last visit, we walked towards  Mrs. UP.

"Would you like to pet Chester?"  We kept walking.

"I'd like to pet THE DOG."

urch.    

SERIOUSLY?

We pawsitively froze in our tracks.

Mrs. UP gently touched Chester's head. His ears.  "You are such a nice dog."

 Chester raised his eyebrows, looking up at me.  I looked down at him.  

He grinned.  I grinned.

We pawsed.  Lingered.

Don't you just love it?



.......seriously.....

Chetty to the Rescue

Chester and I lingered in one of the common living areas at Willow Valley, visiting familiar residents. Often, in this room, we see a dear married couple, Sue and Russ (names changed) who sit side by side in their wheel chairs  ... holding hands.  So sweet.   Though we are on the alzheimer's floor and memories are  fuzzy ~ there is a tenderness & connection between Russ and Sue that words can't explain. 

Over the past year and a half, Russ has come to love Chester visits.  Russ is a dog person, and whenever Chester would come into the room, he would exclaim "Chetty! Awe....Chetty's here.."  with a kazillion exclamation points. 

For the past few weeks we've missed seeing Russ, he has not been in his usual spot at 2:00 in the afternoon, watching TV with his bride.  I asked Dori (my therapist friend) about Russ, she told me he has been failing quickly and often stays in his room for longer periods. :-(

As Dori and I stood visiting about Russ, Chester stopped focusing on the residents and glared out into the hallway.  "What is it ?"  I asked him.  He glanced at me, and again stared out into the empty hallway.  Call me crazy, but he looked just like Lassie when she was trying to tell Ma or Pa that Timmy was stuck in the well.  (If you were not blessed to grow up with b&w TV, you will be completely clueless about what I just said!)  Anyways...

I followed Chester's lead into the hallway where we faced two open doors. 

I moved toward the door on the left.  "Do want to go in here?" Nope.

I moved towards the door on the right. "This room?"  Chester began to walk through the doorway.  We paused so Dori could go in first and make sure the resident was ok & ready for a 4-legged visitor.  I had no idea whose room this was.  Not a clue.

When we got the thumbs-up, Chester & I walked in together.  On the other side of the curtain, laying in the bed near the window was......   Russ?  Yes, Russ.  Our friend, Russ.  Hearing us, he turned his head, gently smiled,  and reached out his hand towards Chester,  "Chetty, you came to see me....."

Russ was having an especially hard day and it was more than clear that this dear man was "stuck in the well" ~~~  in need of some TLC,  Chetty Therapy, and some assistance  from his Aides who were unaware of his current need.   He was lonely. Confused.   Sad.  Missing his Sue.

 Chetty and I stayed by Russ's bedside while Dori retrieved the help that was needed. 

After Russ was safely "out of the well" --- Chetty pranced down the hallway to his next assignment...

And....Dori and I picked our jaws up off the floor and pondered.....

                                                                        

                                                                                     

Happy Birthday Willard!

Happy Birthday Willard!

Willard turned 94 years old on June 1st.  Chester and I were deeee-lighted to celebrate this day with our dear friend. We were his only visitors.... sigh....  How glad we were to be there :-)

Chester brought a 5x7 photo of himself as a gift for his buddy. A handsome beach picture! Willard smiled big, so big in fact that his top teeth began to fall out :-) .  (You just have to keep a sense of humor during these moments ~ It didn't bother Willard in the least, he just gently gave them a push back in place! I just love this man!) 

Willard held  the framed photo gently, a treasure, examining it closely.  Then,  he made those happy sounds that make me smile deep in my heart. I placed the photo on the window ledge where Willard could easily see it.

After presents, we did what we usually do. I sat on the chair at Willard's bedside. Chester climbed onto the bed with his friend. And the two snuggled.  Chester's breathing became steady and his eyes heavy.  He fell asleep enjoying gentle ear massages, neck rubs, and paw pats from the birthday boy.

After quite some time Willard reached out and touched MY arm. "Thank you for the picture," he said.  I was so startled....stunned might be a better word ~~ that he spoke so clearly and made the connection that the picture was our gift to him on his birthday. Another Alzheimer's miracle moment...... tears spilled over my cheeks.

"You are so very welcome." I replied.  "We love you, Willard."

Happy Birthday dear friend.



In Memory of Janet

Our Friend Janet

My heart is kind of achy this week......Chester and I attended a memorial service for Janet, a woman we visited regularly on the Alzheimer's floor. She LOVED dogs and had a sweet connection with Chester. The staff on her floor were OVERJOYED when  we came, as Janet's disease made her way-difficult to get along with and not fun to be with (if you catch my drift)....that is, except when Chester pranced through her doorway. When Chester was on site, Janet became a different person, probably her real self  ~~~~ full of spunk, but so tender, kind, and thoughtful.

The first time we visited Janet, she told the staff that she would indeed like a visit from THE DOG. We walked in her room, moved near her bedside, and accidentally, I gave Chester the wrong command.  The way I patted the bed told him to JUMP ON, rather than PAWS UP.  (Oopsie Daisy)  Chester looked at me, grinned,  and gently jumped up on Janet's bed.  I knew that he knew that I knew he was totally taking advantage of my mistake.  It delighted them both to no-end. And that was the beginning. I did command Chester off the bed, as Janet told me, with a sparkle in her eye, "that dogs were not allowed on the bed at her home!"  But, I could tell she appreciated the fact that he broke the rules :-) .

Whenever we visited, Chester would come along side Janet's bed on the right hand side, put his big ole front paws up on her bedspread and inch-in as close as he could.  She would talk to him in such a sweet voice, stroke his big ole paws and soft ears,  feed him treats, and ask me the same questions each time we came....and tell me about her dogs. Her Boxers.  And whenever we left, she would thank us over and over for visiting.

On our last visit,  Janet was on oxygen and had pneumonia. I knew, I think we all knew, it was the last time we would see each other on earth.  I took her hand, and told her I loved her and so enjoyed our visits.  She told me she hated being sick.  In less than a week she had passed from earth to heaven.

I wanted to attend Janet's service.  To meet her children and grandchildren and tell them how much we loved their Mom and Grandma.  And... well I wanted to know Janet. The real Janet.  As a few shared about her life, .....well....She was just as I had imagined her. :-) Full of life and love and spunk. She was a woman who spoke her mind clearly, with a  feisty twinkle in her eye.  She was a no-nonsense school teacher who was loved deeply by her students. And she loved dogs. Her Boxers.  

Our lives are all the richer because of our Thursdays with Janet.

You will be greatly missed.

But I wouldn't wish you back, not for anything.

A Hui Ho ~ Until we meet again.

With Hugs and Tail Wags.  

LEAVE IT! probably saved his life.....

A Teachable Moment for all KPETS Teams

& Doggie Owners

Today on one of our regular KPETS visits, Chester's quick response and obedience probably saved his life. When we walked into the room, my buddy sniffed under a table and I noticed a blue capsule/pill. I commanded him "Leave It" and he did so immediately. I then notified the staff who removed the medicine from the area.  I was so thankful my eyes were on Chester, and he obeyed without hesitation.  A great reminder for us all to make sure our pups are confident in this command, and to stay alert on our visits. I really never thought this would happen ~~ and it did.   I'm thankful for the training KPETS gives ~~ so valuable for the safety of our pets as we serve others.