July 2021 – Me and the Doods.com

Hello Henry

On July 17th, for a “big” birthday, tired of receiving mail about hearing aids and life alert bracelets, I did a solo hike in the Santa Monica Mountains from the San Fernando Valley to the beach. The walk gave me such a sense of freedom and helped me put things in perspective.

ELBEE But she is still having random strangers take her picture.

Despite the daughters’ concerns, I didn’t get lost or have to be rescued by helicopter.

ELBEE That’s because there were signs.

The next day, my husband Doug and I drove through the San Bernadino Mountains to pick up my very special birthday present, Henry, an eight week old Great Pyrenees/Poodle mix.

I had spoken to Annie, the breeder, at length about my hopes for Henry so she knew that temperament was crucial. She assured me the puppies had a head start on socialization because her six children held them every day.

As we went down the drive to her house, she was standing there holding him. It was love at first sight. When we sat on the porch and she handed him to me I remembered the advice I’d received from my friend Gina, an experienced trainer. When I’d gone to get Stanley she’d said “If you pick him up and he just relaxes in your arms, that’s the one.”

I can’t tell you how happy I was when Annie handed him to me and he cuddled in my lap. He did the same thing with Doug. We couldn’t have asked for our initial meeting to have gone any better.

Instead of heading straight home, my husband dropped me at his office, then went to pick up Gus and Stanley so we could introduce them on neutral ground. When they arrived, Henry grabbed Stanley’s leash and tried to drag him around and Gus was bit of a diva but fortunately there was no real drama. It was more like mutual curiosity.

GUS & STANLEY We were totally blindsided.

It’s hard to believe that was only a week ago. He’s already part of the pack, although I think he’s on probation.

He’s exhausting, which puppies are by definition. We’re working on potty training, not eating the furniture and not pulling Stanley’s hair. And if this post is a little off, it’s because yours truly has been getting up at the crack of dawn to let him out.

On the other hand he is sweet, confident, and adorable. With time, patience and a little luck, I hope he will grow into a life of love and service like his “brothers.”

Doug and Stanley

I was going to take this week off in honor of my big birthday, but then Doug, my husband, and Stanley had a moment that I really wanted to share.

ELBEE Her first birthday card was from a hearing aid company saying that she might want to stop in if that tells you anything.

Starting as far back as Charley, Doug has been supportive of my work with the dogs, but it wasn’t until recently that he became a true believer. Over the years, as a surgeon at Providence Tarzana, he saw faces light up when the dogs were in the hospital and he heard special stories about their visits.

Back when we were still taking polaroids, one of his elderly patients clutched a picture of Charley to her chest as she was wheeled into the operating room. When she awoke in recovery, the photo was the first thing she asked for.

When I’d bring one of them to his office, the whole atmosphere would change. Patients in the waiting room would forget they were waiting.

In the past few years the dogs have become very popular in the clinic where my husband is working. He had a birthday recently, and although he’s not big on celebrations, the staff insisted on a little party, of course with Gus and Stanley in attendance. They made everyone’s day.

GUS & STANLEY We were the center of attention. It was fabulous.

Despite having seen the dogs in action for so long, it was a quieter moment that turned my husband into a true believer. We were watching America’s Got Talent when it happened.

ELBEE Yes, that is their guilty pleasure. She still thinks she’s going to be discovered. Oy!

With three adorable children waiting in the wings, a tall, handsome 51 year old man was sharing his story. He revealed that his wife had been killed in the helicopter crash that had taken Kobe Bryant and eight other people. When he began to sing an emotional version of “Take a Look at Me Now,” it brought everyone, including Doug, to tears.

Stanley, who was relaxing on the outside deck, suddenly came running into the bedroom. With the hot summer weather, he loves to cool off out there and generally has to be convinced to come inside. That evening, somehow sensing what was going on, he went right to my husband and began leaning on him. Like Charley before him, Stanley was offering the “comfort lean.”

The look of amazement on Doug’s face said it all. As he stood there with Stanley pressed against his legs, he felt his intuition and his pure desire to help. In an unexpected setting, he had experienced the magic of dog therapy.

Happy Tears

With the world slowly reopening, Gus and Stanley have returned to work, doing what they do best. Every time I watch their interactions, I am reminded of what a gift it is to share them in person. After months of trial and error the Zoom calls were almost fun but there is nothing like the smile on a patient’s face when a dog walks into the room.

Aside from the overall joy and positivity, there are always moments that stand out. Gus, along with his UCLA “co-workers,” Winston and Izzy, visited the migrant children who are still being housed at the Long Beach Convention Center.

Groups of kids were brought outside, their situation temporarily fading away as they played with the dogs. Gus loved being the center of attention. Then I walked him over to see a young girl who was off to the side with a bandaged leg, sitting in a wheel chair. As he leaned against her and she petted him, he took a break from the excitement. He just wanted to stay right next to her.

The woman who was assisting the girl looked up at me and said, “He’s knows she’s in pain and he wants to help.” Hearing that, the child suddenly got tears in her eyes.

This past week a few teams were back at UCLA visiting their regular units. While Gus cheered up patients and staff in neuropsych, his best buddy Tommy was in the Pediatric ICU with his person Donna.

Working with critically ill children takes a toll, so those nurses really need the stress relief. They are incredibly appreciative of the dogs. One of the nurses, who remembered Tommy from prior visits, was so happy to see him that she teared up as she hugged him.

A few days ago, hiking down a trail, lost in thought, processing all that’s been going on, I met a man who was walking up with a very sweet Pit Bull. Since it was getting warm and I was almost done, I asked if he needed any extra water for his dog. He assured me that he had plenty, then added “Thank you for your kindness.

This stranger said it so simply and so sincerely but isn’t that what it’s all about. We may choose to be kind to each other but the dogs do it without hesitation. Their pure kindness is truly a gift of love and comfort.

A Warm Welcome Back

This week, for the first time in nearly sixteen months, five teams from the UCLA People Animal Connection returned to the hospital. It was a joyous occasion. The dogs were so excited to see each other and greeted each other like old friends. There was even a bark or two, something you rarely hear.

After a few photos, we went our separate ways to do some in-person visits. Walking though the hospital with Stanley at my side felt so familiar yet so new. The months we’d been away faded into the distance.

Faces lit up as we paused at nurses’ stations. I lost count of how many times I heard. “thank goodness the dogs are back.” Some shared difficult COVID stories and, although they totally understood, said how much the dogs would have helped.

We stopped to visit with a toddler who clung shyly to her dad, but who peeked out when Stanley did a few tricks. Then we went into a room where Stanley did his first bed visit in over a year. He remembered to step gently as he lay down on the blanket we’d placed by the patient’s side.

With Stanley relaxing next to him, the young man showed me videos of his German Shepherd while his mom looked on smiling. I had almost forgotten the power of a simple bed visit.

In a serendipitous moment, we were getting off an elevator and there was my son-in-law’s brother who is truly family. I hadn’t seem him since pre-pandemic and had no idea that his job brought him to UCLA. It was a reunion that fit the mood of the morning.

No return would be complete without our Subway in the basement, so after finishing our “rounds,” Jen, the manager of PAC, and I headed downstairs. We were having lunch and talking about how amazing it was to be back, when she received a text that a palliative care patient needed a visit.

We immediately went up to the ICU to see the 94 year old man who was going home on hospice care. The patient was slightly agitated but his wife talked quietly to me as she petted Stanley. It was another reminder of how much the dogs had been missed and how much we had missed being there.

For all of us who brought our dogs in on Thursday and for those teams that will be returning in the near future, I say thank you for the warm welcome. Thank you to the staff, to the patients and to their families. We are so grateful to be back.