This was another one of those weeks when I’m glad to be in good shape physically and emotionally.
Activities started at Faith. There were lots of kids in church. I could hear a lot of singing. This meant there was going to be a lot of petting after the worship service.
The weekday schedule started at a senior center in northern Lake County. I have now started a monthly visit to this center as a result of a request the staff made. The residents enjoyed our visit.
Then I returned to the VA hospital to visit the veterans. We had not been there since the last week of October because of so many activity requests in the last eight weeks. This time we visited veterans in Building 134. They were very happy to see me. We developed a first-name basis with many veterans.
Next was a senior center in Libertyville. This is another place where we make monthly visits. On this occasion the residents were in a lively mood. I was sitting in a central position surrounded by residents in a circle of chairs. Most of the residents were sharing stories about their favorite Christmas memories. This produced a very happy time for all.
For the rest of the week, I made two visits that were completely different from the ones just described. I went with other comfort dogs to the United Airlines terminal at O’Hare Airport. United sponsors a program every holiday with comfort dogs called Paws. During the three-day period, six groups of comfort dogs visit O’Hare. I was in the second group. The handlers and dogs have to go through the detailed security area. We waited in line for a while. Then I had my metal collar taken off, and I followed my handler through the checkpoint. Fortunately for me, I don’t have shoes that had to be taken off.
In the terminal, there were many, many people. Us dogs were stationed in a relatively small area near the intersection of two main concourses. United staff persons invited people to stop and pet the dogs; and of course, lots of them did. I was there for nearly four hours. It was great, but finally, a little tiring.
For our last visit, we were welcomed at the immigration center operated by Heartland Human Care Services. As we have done previously, we visited with various groups of children in a classroom at the center. Kids are all ages from kindergarten/nursery school age to teenagers up to age 18. These kids come from many different countries. In many cases, the kids don’t have much experience with dogs, certainly not comfort dogs. During this visit, there were some children from Asia who did no know too much about dogs. They petted me, but also looked me over from head to toe–feeling my feet, looking into my ears, feeling my fur. It was a learning process for them, and I was very patient.
As I’ve said in many previous articles, joy comes in many forms. You just have to be there to feel it. The Lord be praised!
Be in touch. Peace!