This was a busy week. It was one when joy was mixed with heartache.
The joy was another visit to the Heartland Human Care Center where JoJo and I visited with children from other countries. Most of the kids are very happy to see us and pet us. There are others, however, who are reluctant to get too close to us. Usually, these kids have had no experience with big dogs. But as we continue to visit, almost all the kids pet us. As a new program, all the staff members are very happy with these results.
Later in the week, we had another happy time visiting one of our Faith members at a senior center. This lady is always very happy to me. When I show up, she smiles a lot. Since we typically meet her in a lunchroom (after lunch), there are many other residents there. They also are happy to see and pet me. A prayer was said with our member asking for the Lord’s continued blessings.
Now for the heartache visits. First, we joined other comfort dogs at a high school in the far west suburbs. It took an hour to get there. We were there to give students comfort. One of the very popular senior students was driving his mother to work about a week before when they were involved in a car accident. Both the student and mother were killed. The student body was in shock. I was there for a little more than three hours. Four dogs, including me, were in the school library. Many students came to see us. Many sat on the floor next to me and petted me for nearly an hour. Students were wearing special wrist bracelets with the name of the student who died. Students thanked us for being there.
Then I attended a memorial service at a funeral home in McHenry. A ten-year-old student at one of the local schools had suddenly died. Comfort dogs were asked to come to help the families impacted by this loss.
We know that the Lord is with all of the people affected by these events. It is the Good News we try to bring all the time,
Be in touch. Peace!
