This week was the beginning of Advent. I was at church on Sunday morning. The rest of the week had some interesting visits.
First, I visited Harper College in Palatine. They were about to begin their finals weeks, so three comfort dogs, including me, were invited to help students relax before the testing period began. We were stationed near the front door of the college library. There was lots of student traffic going in and out of the library for studying purposes. Of course, when they see us dogs sitting there, many stop and pet us. It’s a case of being touched by a thousand hands. We were there for three hours. One student sat on the floor next to me and rubbed my back for about 45 minutes non-stop. You could tell that students were tense because of the coming finals. So we all relaxed.
Then I went on to a significantly more relaxed group pf people at a senior residence in Luther Village. It was a group of about 15 residents waiting to see us. There were three comfort dogs at this visit. I got there about 15 minutes early, so the whole group was anxious to pet me. They were all very happy to see the dogs. One lady sat on the floor and petted each dog for a long time. We visit this residence once per month, and it’s just lots of happy faces.
There were happy faces at the next place we visited this week. If you remember a previous article describing a new and special assignment that I and comfort dog Jo-Jo have to a human care center in the city. This was my second visit to see these special children and teenagers. The residence has a high-quality layout in a secure location.
The young people came to see us in small groups. They were from many countries from the east, south, and west. The majority of the kids came up to us and petted both Jo-Jo and me. Some were very reluctant to get close to us. Comfort dogs are big dogs, so it’s expected that some kids would not want to get too close. Staff was present to make sure the visit was a happy one. We are blessed to be able to offer comfort and peace to a group of kids who have had some very difficult experiences. Peace of the Lord to them all.
Be in touch. Peace!