ELBEE Isn’t that an old movie title?
It may be hard to believe that an admitted Halloween Scrooge like myself is writing a second post about the holiday. Thanks to the dogs it turned out to be a very good one. Walking Stanley, I saw a skeleton that made me rethink my issues with skeletons.
Look closely. Long blonde hair and a glass of wine!
Gus and Henry, along with several of their PAC colleagues, brought the magic of Halloween into Mattel Children’s Hospital.
ELBEE Did she actually say the “magic” of Halloween?
Meeting in the lobby is always a bit chaotic with dogs and people greeting each other. The group photo is a challenge. Gus and Henry were very patient about being dressed as pumpkins but Gus hid his face during the picture taking.
We broke into smaller groups and went floor to floor for trick or treating. The canines in costume brought so much happiness as they paraded through the hospital.
Kids smiled as we walked by their rooms. There was joy and relief on the parents’ faces as they watched their children. Countless staff members told us how it was just what they needed. The visits were not only a gift to the people in the hospital but also to each of us holding the leashes.
That afternoon I had a moving conversation with someone making a delivery to the house. It was a thirty two year old man, who, after meeting the Doods, shared a very special story with me.
When he was seventeen, he spent three months at Children’s Hospital. Apparently, he didn’t have much family because he had few visitors and was very lonely.
He said that when the therapy dogs came in, it completely changed the way he felt. They cheered him up and, for a time, took away the loneliness. Though it was years ago, he remembered it as clearly as if it was yesterday. He still had the dogs’ trading cards.
Listening to him was such an important reminder of what therapy dogs can do. I never for a moment take their work for granted but his story filled me with so much gratitude. It was the best Halloween treat.
