Month: May 2017

Recently Elbee had a moment. No, not a diva moment. It was a profound moment of healing. A moment that epitomized the power of every amazing therapy dog.

We had just finished visiting our assigned neuropsych units at UCLA when a staff member asked if I would bring Elbee to see a young patient who had been having a particularly rough day. From what I was later told, the patient had been “agitated, screaming, unable to calm down and unable to maintain safety for self or others.” There had been an indication that seeing a dog would be helpful.

By the time we arrived, the aggression was less but the patient was still irritable. I approached the child, who was sitting on a chair in an alcove of the hallway, not knowing  quite what to expect. When I asked, “Would you like to pet Elbee?” I got a whispered “yes.” We sat and chatted as the child gently stroked Elbee (who, for the record, was an angel) and then wanted to know if it was okay to braid his hair. I already had him in pigtails, so how could I say no.

Since things were going well, I asked, “would you like to see a few of his tricks?” This time I got another quiet “yes” along with a smile, a smile that grew slightly wider with each trick. A few times, I even let the patient give the commands while Elbee performed like a trouper. It was as if he understood the responsibility of what he was doing.

As Elbee rolled over, crawled, high fived and said his prayers, the child began to applaud which led to the suggestion that we should teach him how to take a bow. Before I knew it, the patient was on the floor next to Elbee demonstrating to him how to do that. It was such a pure moment. Nothing seemed to matter except Elbee, the patient and the bow.

When I later learned of the difficulties that the patient was having, I was almost in disbelief. Our interaction had been incredibly  positive. During the visit I was so engaged with Elbee and the child that I didn’t notice staff members who had been observing. As we said goodbye and prepared to leave, I saw looks of relief and happiness on their faces. I heard a few murmured thank you’s.

Therapy dogs seem to have an intuition about what’s required of them in different situations. I kid about Elbee being a clown, but that morning he stepped up. He was an angel. He was focused on the patient. He was gentle. He was kind. Somewhere his big brother Charley was looking down and smiling.

Last week I compared myself to the Kardashian mom which brought this story to mind.

ELBEE What was she thinking?

Elbee is right. What was I thinking? Anyhow it brought to mind this story which I had been meaning to share for some time. Several years ago, before I was one of the few people in America not to have a reality show, I was contacted about being on a reality show with Charley.

I only watch singing and dancing reality shows (yes, Dancing with the Stars is my guilty pleasure) but from what I was told it was like Big Brother with people and dogs. My fifteen minutes of bodybuilding fame were a distant memory and I liked spending time with Charley so I figured, why not.

ELBEE I have to defend Charley since he is no longer here to defend himself. He was not responsible for this. He was coerced. On the other hand, I would have jumped at the chance. I’d be a natural for TV. And thank you Pack Leader for not dragging out a bodybuilding photo. This story is bad enough.

The whole screening process went great! They loved Charley and were stuck with me. We were a package deal. Eventually I was given a huge contract to sign. No it was not huge money wise. It just had a lot of pages.

Never having seen one of those before, I gave it to the lawyer daughter to look over. At first she was shocked simply because I was even thinking of doing this. Then she was even more horrified when she started reading it. There was a confidentially clause that said I would basically have to disappear from my real life for forty days and nights without telling anyone where I was going. What if no one missed me?

Even worse was the nudity clause. I guess if they caught me and Charley naked and brushing our teeth they wanted to be able to use the footage. Eventually the daughter and the young female lawyer from the production company worked out the details. By the way, she confided to the daughter that she would be equally horrified if her mother wanted to do this.

Undeterred, I went to the “big” meeting  where final selections and details were being worked out. To give you an idea of how close we came, all of the dogs that ended up on the show were there that day. Fortunately, for some reason, I came to my senses. I started asking so many questions that they thought I might not have the right attitude. Someone even implied that people would give up their firstborn to be on the show. I couldn’t. She was my lawyer.

For a period of time I regretted my decision. Was I passing up a chance at fame and fortune?

ELBEE Are you kidding me! She was giving up the chance to embarrass herself and poor Charley on national television. 

Much as I hate to admit it, once again Elbee is correct. When it aired that summer I breathed a huge sigh of relief. There was lots of alcohol involved (not for the dogs). There were arguments, tears, confessions. I might have ended up over sharing with all of America!

Originally, I started this post with good news and bad news but it simply wasn’t cutting it. The good news was that recently Elbee had stepped up his game at the hospital and was like a different more humble dog. The bad news was that Gus seemed to have gotten in touch with his inner diva.

ELBEE It wasn’t working because Pack Leader was being disingenuous. Hey, I’ve told you, since Charley’s been gone I’ve had to step up my vocabulary.

This morning I headed into the mountains to do some minimal soul searching and figure out why I couldn’t write the post. It only took me a few steep climbs to realize, and I hate to admit this, that Elbee was right. I was being dishonest with myself. I love the “divadom” of the dogs. I’m like the Kardashian mom. The only differences are that my kids are canine and don’t make money.

Note to the daughters: I’m not talking about you and love you dearly so don’t sue.

I’m sure it stems from my childhood as the ultimate nerd with glasses, braces and orthopedic shoes. In the past, I’ve shared that I spent most of the 80’s (okay and some of the 90’s) overcompensating for those years by becoming a bodybuilding “diva.” Who else waves and blows kisses from the stage? My original involvement in weight lifting may have begun as part of my recuperation from a near fatal car accident, but trust me, the nerd thing added plenty of fuel to the fire.

ELBEE If she doesn’t put up pictures from the archives, I won’t bark for a year.

ELBEE Darn! I thought that might work.

After I owned up to the dog/diva thing, what else was there to do but an impromptu photo shoot. The daughters can’t believe that I put the dogs in these outfits and that they actually cooperate. Even Riley, our 14 year old Golden who is Charley’s uncle and also incredibly patient, took part. Come to think of it, the daughters were never this good when I tried to take the annual holiday photo.

ELBEE There were bribes involved. Still, I must admit that although I’ve complained about the glasses in the past, these purple ones give me a certain, je ne sais quoi. Yes, I’ve taken up French.

GUS I hate to be negative but the scarf was a little over the top for my taste.

Gus had another photo op at UCLA on Wednesday. As part of Nurse Appreciation Week, he and his buddy Tommy paid a visit to the Emergency Room. While we were there someone shot this great picture with some of the staff.

GUS I am really sorry to complain again but I have an issue with this photo. Tommy and I are in very awkward poses. We should have demanded a reshoot.

ELBEE OMG he really is turning into a total little diva. I am so proud!