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May 23, 2024
As some of you know, Laika is a therapy dog, and we visit the Tunnell Cancer Center and the adjacent Bookhammer Outpatient Center on Wednesdays.
This past Wednesday we made our regular rounds and visited with some of the patients we had met on previous visits and met some new people,
Laika even got to give hugs and kisses to several of the Tunnell staff members that we visit on a regular basis.
After completing the visit to Tunnell we headed over to Bookhammer.
There were a handful of people in the waiting area at Bookhammer, so we took a quick stroll around and stopped and chatted with a few.
As we were headed out of the waiting area a woman sitting in the back corner asked me to bring Laika over to meet her.
She seemed a bit nervous and admitted she was sad because she had recently had to put her 14-year-old dog down due to medical issues.
As she stroked Laika's ears and head she told us that she was nervous because she was there for an MRI exam and could not get her rings off.
I told her that I was sure that she was not the first person to be in that situation and that the staff would likely have a solution.
That's when she told me that even if they were able to figure out a way to get her rings off - she was not sure she was ready to take them off.
It turns out that her husband had recently passed away and she had not taken them off since he had died.
While sharing this information she raised her hands, crossed them and placed them on her heart.
Laika saw this and immediately looked up and let out a yelp.
The women asked me what was happening.
I explained to her that when I want Laika to give me a hug I cross my hands on my chest - just like she had done.
I told her that Laika wanted to give her a hug.
When I asked her if she wanted a hug from Laika she smiled and said "...of course".
She leaned forward and Laika got up and reached out and put her paws around the women's neck.
They hugged for a bit and the woman thanked Laika for being there.
After the hug, a nurse came out to call the woman back for the MRI and told her not to worry about the rings as they dealt with this situation all the time.
As Laika and I walked back to the car I told her that I was proud of her and that she had been a "Very Good Girl".
Dogs Are People, Too...
