Category: Gentle Barn

A Horse Is a Horse of Course

Stanley’s second pet visit station at UCLA Medical Center was very special. Not so much because he’s grown into the job, but because of the illustrious company he was keeping.

STANLEY What does illustrious mean?

ELBEE You don’t want to know.

 

 

First there was Blue Moon, a miniature horse who does the monthly visit stations in the peace garden outside of the lobby. Adorable and smart, Blue Moon was in this year’s nationally televised Tournament of Roses Parade.

When Stanley was still a puppy we went to the Gentle Barn, an amazing animal sanctuary. He was very taken with the horses and even nuzzled a blind one named Hiro. Apparently he blocked all of that from memory. When he saw Blue Moon he was baffled. What was she? A dog? A horse?

Initially he was a little hesitant. Then he moved in closer and decided she was okay to play with so he went for the puppy “bounce.” To her credit, Blue Moon was extremely patient even though I’m sure she thought he was ridiculous.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we headed over to the patio on the other side of the hospital where we joined a husky named Izzy and her person Melissa. Izzy has the most beautiful blue eyes. If we combined Izzy’s eyes with Stanley’s long eyelashes, they’d have a cosmetics contract sewn up.

 

 

Izzy was recently voted America’s most popular pet on Good Morning America, so Stanley was in very good company. Although Stanley doesn’t have her credentials, the two of them were a huge hit. I lost count of how many people going in and out of the hospital stopped to pet them and take photos.

I wonder if Stanley was blocking me on purpose.

ELBEE Yes he was.

As so often happens amidst all of the dog festivity, I ended up in a serious and touching conversation. An older man approached and jokingly said that he’d like to pet Stanley but was afraid he’d want to steal him for his son.

He confided that his adult son had severe psychological issues. The man often felt that a dog would be of help. Coincidentally, I had recently read an article about organizations that were training psychiatric service dogs.

They are taught to sense anxiety and depression. They learn to stop someone who is self-harming with cutting. An agoraphobic woman said that her dog enabled her to leave the house. A very young boy with severe problems was able to return to school.

I truly wished that I’d had specifics for the man but when I shared the information I had, he was so appreciative. He was glad to have a direction where he could search for help for his son. He even took a moment to hug Stanley.

 

The Year of the Doodle

In the Chinese Zodiac, this is the year of the pig. I’ve always loved pigs so was very happy to see that. As a matter of fact, I recently had the sweetest interaction with a 700 pound pig at the Gentle Barn animal sanctuary. When the daughters were little, I’d take them to the farm at Pierce College because they enjoyed seeing the pigs so much.

ELBEE I’m sure it comes as no surprise that I’ve eavesdropped on the daughters. They had about as much interest in the pigs as I do.

In my own personal Zodiac, this is the year of the Doodle. They were there for me as 2019 arrived. And it arrived with a bang!

ELBEE I hate to burst her bubble but isn’t every year the year of the Doodle?

On New Year’s eve day, my husband woke up with excruciating pain in his side. After a visit to the emergency room and extensive tests, it was determined that he had a pulmonary embolism, a blood clot in his lungs. The doctors decided to keep him in overnight for observation. The good news is that he is on medication and doing well.

While he was resting in the hospital, I went home and spent New Years eve with the Doods. Contrary to reports from the 10th anniversary party at UCLA, they are not big drinkers. There was no champagne involved but they were great company. We curled up on the bed and watched as the New Year was celebrated in 2 or 3 different time zones. We didn’t quite make it for the west coast.

ELBEE AND GUS For the record, we would not have turned down a nice glass of champagne if it had been offered. Stanley is obviously too young to drink.

On New Years day, my beautiful friend Roberta lost her battle with brain cancer. (Roberta) Although relieved that she was finally out of pain and at peace, I mourned her passing. As the Doods sat and comforted me once again, I thought about how many times they had comforted her.

With all that the dogs, even Stanley, did for me last week, I was pretty sure that this was my year of the Doodle. Then as I was looking for maybe another sign, I realized that the daughters had already come through with flying colors. For Christmas, one of them (I am not naming names) had given me a “Doodle Lover” tee shirt.

THE DOODS The shirt is fabulous. It brought tears to our eyes.

Another daughter had given me pajamas with a “Goldendoodle Mom” top.

THE DOODS I don’t think they got it quite right. It should really say, ‘Unpaid Doodle Employee.”

A happy, healthy Year of the Doods to all of you!

 

 

Stanley and the Gentle Barn

At a June PAC luncheon, I was incredibly moved by the words of guest speaker Ellie Laks, the founder of the Gentle Barn, “a sanctuary where animals heal and children learn to hope.” This week a group of us from UCLA went out to Santa Clarita to visit. The experience did not disappoint.

Rescued from deplorable conditions, a mix of animals from cows, pigs, horses, sheep and goats to turkeys and chickens live in a bucolic setting. Treated with love, kindness and caring, they have learned to trust again.

I felt as if I was seeing a reflection of the best and the worst of mankind. The animals had been mistreated by people, but Ellie and her wonderful crew have brought them hope. Their names, like Blessing and Magic, are a reminder of the positive work being done. Somehow, they also contribute to a sense of peace and spirituality.

There was another part to the day that made it even more special for me. Ellie encouraged us to bring our dogs so I had Stanley with me. I was a little nervous about bringing a puppy but felt it would be a great opportunity for socializing and training. I also truly believed he could handle it. To my delight, he was so good that he surprised not only me but everyone else.

When we first arrived, he barked at a donkey standing by a fence. In his defense,  he’d never seen anything that looked even remotely like a donkey. It was the last time he barked all afternoon!

Not only was he comfortable with the other dogs in our group, he was fascinated by the barn animals. When we went into the enclosure with Forgiveness, a three thousand pound genetically altered cow, he stopped briefly as if to assess, and then moved closer. He showed more curiosity than fear.

It was the horses that really caught his fancy. He went almost nose to nose with Hiro, a horse that is totally blind. There was something so gentle in their interaction. Later, standing by the outside paddock, he tried to climb through the fence to get closer to the others. He even made friends with the donkey.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ellie was so impressed with Stanley’s temperament and judging by the photo, he was pretty impressed with her too. She said that he was the most amazing puppy  she’d ever seen and felt he’d do great work. Since she is an animal guru with such empathy for them and such intuition, I could not have asked for more.

Stanley may continue to bite Elbee’s ears, counter surf, and shred newspapers but I will hear her words in my head and believe that he has something special to offer. With luck, he will one day walk bravely into the hospital by my side.