ELBEE Where does she come up with these titles?
Over the past month or so, after having been out of the hospital for over a year, Gus and Stanley were allowed to visit their regular neuropsych units. COVID protocol had changed some things but what absolutely remained the same was the rush of joy when the dogs walked in.
Then last week we took a giant step backwards. With the Delta variant raising its ugly head, we (the husband included), decided it was not really safe to bring them in. It made me so sad because the smiles, and even the tears, of some of the kids had reminded me how much it meant to them to see the dogs in person.
Talking to Jen, the manager of the People Animal Connection, I asked if we were still doing Zoom calls. I surprised myself because I am the same person who had so many problems with the technology.
ELBEE She had a Zoom meeting with a large group of nurses with no audio.
When Jen assured me that it was no problem, I had a brilliant idea. Why not take advantage of the situation and include Henry. Who wouldn’t like to see a three month old puppy? I was truly going to make lemonade out of lemons.
ELBEE Oy
On Wednesday morning when I logged in for the call, all three of the dogs were sitting in the usual spot on the bedroom floor in front of my laptop. I had Henry on a leash, assuming I would need that to keep him with us.
ELBEE The truth is she didn’t want him running around and peeing.
I needn’t have worried. Henry follows his “brothers” everywhere and stayed right with them, vying for screen time. Who knew he had an inner diva! If I thought my early calls were chaotic, they were a snooze fest compared to Henry joining in the fun.
This turned out to be a positive. From all of the virtual visits we’ve done over the past year, I’ve learned that the kids enjoy it a lot more when the dogs are acting up. They’d rather see them wrestling than doing a perfect sit. Having Henry on the call was a gift. He even made the teens laugh.
And here’s the Henry update that you’ve all been waiting for. He went for his checkup this week and now weighs in at 25 pounds of adorable puppy.
My granddaughter Samantha bonded with him in July and August. What a difference a month makes!😄
