Wheatie’s Day Making A Difference
Yesterday evening, Wheatie got his weekly bath followed by first brush out and then a final brush out and super fluff this morning before heading off to the hospital. Needless to say, he looked fabulous!
Today, we entered a waiting room at the cancer center, filled with several couples sitting next to each other looking nervous. No one spoke or made eye contact with his or her neighbor. In walks Wheatie. The first couple declined a visit until Wheatie started visiting with the second couple, when they asked for a visit too. Wheatie spent time with each couple, getting pets and hugs and returning comforting nudges and tail wags. Soon, it was time to leave the group and move on to others. We gave everyone a squirt of hand sanitizer and one of Wheatie’s winter cards as a take-home reminder of his visit.
When we were several rows away from this group and Wheatie was getting a nice back massage from a group of three eager ladies, I heard a conversation begin from the first group we saw. The lady in the first couple announced out loud, “We have a Shih Tzu.” Her neighbor lifted his eye, turned toward her and said, “Yeah? I’ve got a boxer.” Then suddenly, the magic began. “My friend had a boxer. Such a nice dog. There was one time when he really made her laugh by…” After a chuckle, the boxer owner responded, “That sounds just like my boy. Why the other day…” And before you knew it, the third couple had also joined in with some cat stories and these three separate groups of people had suddenly become bonded over their pet stories. As Wheatie and I circled around the waiting room, we heard and saw them entertaining each other and when we turned to leave the room, we no longer saw three groups of strangers, sitting and worrying silently. Instead, we left a group of friends giving each other support and strength as they all waited together.
Pure therapy dog magic!
2 Responses to “Wheatie’s Day Making A Difference”
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Books by Dr. Marcus
Way to go Wheatie
Wheatie and Toby are miracle workers just imagine how much happiness they can bring to an otherwise broken patients.You and your dogs are angels for each of these people.
I can’t tell you all of the many people Joy has comforted in the public. People with autism, cancer, terrible fear of pet dogs, she can pick out people caring for terminal clients and why not, they have to be adversely affected as well as the client that is living sadly day-to-day.
In our eyes, dogs are miracle workers.