Thinking over our October visits, the comfort dog team was quite busy.
I continue to visit the assisted living facility, Radford Green, in Lincolnshire and Gurnee Meadows, a senior living residence in Gurnee, where one of our members resides. At all of these locations, people were so happy to see and pet me. I have an open invitation with the team to revisit each of these residences in the coming months.
I am also settling into a regular visit to the REACH Adult Day Program at the Center for Enriched Living in Riverwoods. This is proving to be a very worthwhile visit. The young adults with developmental disabilities are learning socialization skills and making friends. Our visits give these folks a chance to pet me and get to know a dog—a new experience for some. I am all up for that; they are so gentle!
I visited a new place: Oakdale Elementary School in Waukegan. We met in the school library. The school principal joined us. She organized several groups of younger students to visit with me. Many didn’t have a family dog, so petting was a new experience. The principal said she would like to obtain some reading materials about comfort dogs to use in the classrooms. My handler obtained a recent book from LCC telling the stories of many comfort dogs and gave it to the principal. She was thankful. We will return to the school each month.
The final event for the month—apart from my regular attendance at Sunday services—was Faith’s Community Trunk or Treat. I was stationed at one of the stops. Our trunk was bedecked with blue and white streamers and a shiny garland. I got to sit on my special mat that has my picture. The children came by in colorful costumes. One little boy was dressed like a clown walking on his hands. I would lie down for them to pet me. We gave them candy and pretzels. It was lots of fun!
Praise the Lord for all these opportunities to serve people in His Name.
Be in touch, peace,
Asher