Every week, I take my dog, Trooper, to a local nursing home to do Pet Therapy with the residents/patients there. We call him Trooper, MD". . .the "MD" stands for "Ministry Dog!" Trooper is an 8 year old German Shepherd/Chow mix. With his large size, he is not only protective, but also extremely loving. He can walk up to wheelchairs and hospital beds and people can reach right over and touch him without much effort. Some of the people love to give him treats (Alpo Snaps are his favorite!) that I bring with me. They love to see him sit, shake hands and lie down for his treats. He is very sensitive and gentle with the people there.
It's so funny to hear one or two of the residents yell down the hallways to everyone else "Trooper's here!" when they see us coming! "Trooper" is the word around the nursing home that cheers everyone up!
Trooper is also skilled at working with stroke victims, partially paralyzed people and Alzheimer patients. He shows care and precision when working around IVs, catheters or any other medical equipment. Trooper has been able to get stroke victims to respond when no one else can. People who have lost use of one side of their bodies will try exceptionally hard to touch Trooper with the dysfunctional part of their body when the doctors or nurses cannot get them to move at all for anything else.
There have been a few Alzheimer patients who responded to nothing else, sitting there all day, expressionless. When Trooper approached them, a few have actually turned their heads toward him and a couple have had their eyes fill with tears which began to stream down their faces. The staff cannot believe that a "dog" is what it took to finally get these people to respond and progress a step further.
Many of the residents at nursing homes do not have family that come often to visit them. They are in so much need of attention, and there is no better attention than the unconditional love of an animal.
Trooper wears an ID badge with his name and picture on it when he is at the nursing home. I think it's kind of a neat thing! He even posed to have his picture made for the badge! He is so adorable and such a card! He also has a diploma, having graduated from obedience school! He had 6 weeks of daily, rigorous training in obedience. We still work on his obedience skills often to keep him doing well. Trooper knows that when his regular collar comes off and his training collar goes on that it is time to go to work. Trooper eagerly dons his training collar and gets in his work mode, even with the arthritic pain that causes much suffering in his worn out body! He puts aside his normal dog self and gets geared up to cheer up!
I would encourage anyone with a love of animals and a dog that is proficient in obedience and people-oriented to consider volunteering their time at a local nursing home. It is a great way to show the love of Jesus to lonely, hurting people.
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