working dogs – Page 10 – Me and the Doods.com

Dogs, Dads & Dodgers

I’m a total sports nut, the kind who screams when watching a game, whether it’s on TV or in person. Years ago, when the Lakers were at their peak, I was so loud that the daughters (and the neighbors) could hear me yelling from out in the street during the games. If my team is winning, I will stay rooted to one spot, afraid I’ll jinx them if I move.

I should clarify that I’m actually a baseball and basketball fan. Other sports, like football, go right over my head.

ELBEE She’s not kidding. One time she and my brother Charley were on the field at the Rose Bowl for a special UCLA appearance. The director told her to go stand on the ten yard line. When she asked where it was, he told her that it was next to the nine yard line. That guy was funny.

The Lakers and Dodgers are my teams. I once ducked out of a fancy wedding reception at a hotel in Beverly Hills to sneak into the bar and watch the Lakers in a pivotal play-off game. Meeting Magic Johnson at a charity event is one of my prized memories. So is casually running into long time Dodgers’ announcer Vin Scully when he was out shopping with his family.

ELBEE There was absolutely nothing casual about the way she ran up to him. I think she scared the poor man.

One of my favorite perks of volunteering at UCLA with the dogs is the Laker/Dodger connection. UCLA Heath is in partnership with both teams so there are often events where we get to meet the players.

Gus and I spent a morning visiting patients with Kenta Maeda when he was a pitcher for the Dodgers. We had the chance to take photos with Brandon Ingram when he was a Laker.

ELBEE Wonder if meeting her has anything to do with the fact that they’ve both moved on to other teams. Just a thought.

Recently, I received an e-mail requesting volunteers for a Zoom Father’s Day event at Mattel Children’s Hospital called “Dogs, Dads and Dodgers.” I couldn’t sign up fast enough, figuring that virtual Dodgers would be better than no Dodgers.

ELBEE Hmm wonder where she got the title for this post.

I was so excited when I signed in for the Zoom meeting that Sunday. I expected half of the team would be on the call and that we’d all chat.

ELBEE Seriously?

I was momentarily disappointed when I saw that it was only going to be one player, Ross Stripling. Then, as he began to read to the kids, I was really touched. I mean how often do you have the privilege of, even virtually, seeing a Dodger pitcher enthusiastically reading a children’s book to kids in the hospital. On another positive note, he’s still with the Dodgers so I didn’t scare him away.

Pandemics, Protests and Positivity

With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing and black lives matter protests taking place around the world, I once again questioned if I should be striking a more serious note. I mentioned my concern to a few friends who immediately said “absolutely not.” They wanted my posts to be about love and positivity, not conflict and negativity.

ELBEE At least she’s not giving people heartburn with their morning coffee.

A lot of the credit goes to Gus and Stanley for helping me keep it together in these difficult days. They have been incredibly patient.

ELBEE That’s obvious.

It’s widely accepted that 10 minutes of petting a dog lowers your blood pressure, releases relaxing hormones and reduces psychic stress. Now studies show that cuddling with us may lower dogs’ blood pressure and cause them to release relaxing hormones. That made me feel so much better.

ELBEE Where does she come up with this stuff?

On another positive note, I’ve seen lots of UCLA signs popping up for the class of 2020. Every time I see one, I’m tempted to pose Gus and Stanley in front, because, after all, they are honorary Bruins. The signs make me think about the many patients, families and staff who are benefiting from the Zoom visits that the People Animal Connection teams are continuing to do.

ELBEE She forgot to mention that most of the signs were put up by UCLA alumni. That would include me.

To be honest, the virtual visits still seem odd to me. Yet how can I argue with the people who say that simply seeing the dogs and hearing about them, makes them smile.

I was given another gift of love from Marsha, the groomer, when I went to pick up the dogs at the “spa,” in itself a wonderful moment. You try drying Gus and Stanley.

GUS & STANLEY Hey, fabulous takes upkeep.

She told me that a woman, seeing Gus from the doorway, said he looked just like a dog that had visited her mother when she was a patient at Providence Tarzana Hospital. Turns out it was Gus. Her daughter said that the timing was perfect. Her mom had been so cheered up that she’d gotten out of bed and dropped down on the floor with him. Knowing how the visits still resonate is so comforting.

I had another beautiful encounter with a woman who was drawn to Stanley as soon as she met him. Knowing that he was a therapy dog and that I’d had others, she looked me in the eye and very quietly and sincerely said, “Thank you so much for what you do. I can tell you from personal experience that it works. It saved me.”

I truly hope these Dood moments that help me can help you too. I hope they can make these dark times a little brighter by chasing away stress and anxiety, even for a few moments.

Signs of the Time

It seems like forever ago that COVID-19 first came into our consciousness. At the time, trying to focus on the positive I wrote about the chalk drawings that were suddenly appearing on sidewalks. Some were funny. Some were grateful. Some were encouraging. They were early signs of this surreal time.

Over the last three months, the signs have changed. Seeing them when I walk the dogs is like an emotional gauge. I simply have to observe to get a sense of all that is happening.

In March, closed signs started to appear as stay at home orders were issued. Non-essential businesses had to lock their doors. The beaches and parks were shut down. Then, hard as it was to believe, the mountains were off limits.

ELBEE That one by the beach has a mixed message.

A few weeks ago, when I was walking the dogs down Ventura Blvd., a normally bustling street, there was barely any traffic. Stores and businesses were closed. In almost every window were signs indicating that they were shut down until further notice due to COVID-19. It felt as if I was in a science fiction movie.

This month, as things have gradually started to reopen, there has been a shift in the signs once again. Stores are announcing new hours and new rules. Masks are required along with social distancing. There are notices at crosswalks, warning you not to touch the button for the light, just to wait for it to change.

My favorite signs, like the chalk messages in the beginning, are the ones of celebration and gratitude. After months of home schooling, parents are showing lots of appreciation for teachers. The teachers, having missed the kids, are also reaching out.

June, usually a joyous month of graduation, has become a time of virtual celebration. I’ve lost count of how many signs of congratulation I’ve seen and how many drive-by parties and ceremonies. This sign for Justin touched me because I graduated from Syracuse University. I can only imagine his disappointment at missing all the pomp and circumstance.

ELBEE It was so long ago, I bet she can’t even remember the ceremony.

Gus and Stanley have even joined the chorus of well wishers. They are sending congratulations to the class of 2020.

ELBEE I can’t believe it. Stanley is wearing my favorite Grateful Dead tie.

We have been faced with so many deep rooted challenges in the past few weeks. I hope that the next signs I see will reflect love, honor and healing. Let them be signs of kindness and respect.

Who Ya Gonna Call? Virtual Stress Busters!

During final exams at UCLA, the PAC dogs serve as stress busters at Powell Library. As soon as the dogs walk in, the mood lightens and studying takes a temporary back seat. On one visit a girl kept hugging Gus and crying, reassuring me that they were happy tears. During Stanley’s first time at Powell, one of the students lay down on the floor with him.

Last week, since the pandemic made it impossible to bring the dogs in, virtual visits were the next best thing. Having done several meetings, I confidently logged in with Gus and Stanley. That’s when it happened. My computer told me that I couldn’t log in because I had to update Zoom. Two months ago I’d never even heard of it. Now I had to update it?

ELBEE What happened to her tech “savvyiness?”

With great trepidation, I pressed the update button. The blue line started moving but I don’t think it could have gone any slower. When it finally finished and I was about to congratulate myself, another message came up informing me that I didn’t have the necessary authority to install the update. It even asked if I was a robot.

ELBEE I was laughing so hard.

Then the invisible “it” who was controlling all of this wanted a password. By some miracle, after three wrong ones, I got it right. Then, totally stressed, I joined the other teams at the anti-stress meeting already in progress.

Gus, done by then, went to take a nap. Stanley, on the other hand, loves Zoom and shares the screen with me. One of the girls started smiling as soon as she saw his big shaggy head. She remembered him from a pet visit station at the hospital. She had been having a really bad day and Stanley had turned it around. A moment later she help up a photo of her and Stanley that she had saved in her phone.

Stanley watched as everyone introduced their dogs to the students, shared stories and answered questions. All of a sudden he saw Blue Moon, the adorable miniature horse who is in the program. Stanley has met her a few times and is a little obsessed. He couldn’t take his eyes off the screen as her owner Victoria had her do a few tricks.

ELBEE When Blue Moon played her piano, I thought Stanley was going to dance.

Obviously, it’s harder to gage the effects that the dogs are having during a virtual visit. It’s “pet” therapy and there is no petting. The only feedback comes through the comments and questions. On that day, someone had typed in, “I’m so happy now.” That made me so happy too.

It’s a Virtual World

Everywhere you look people are Zooming… book clubs, dog classes, family get togethers, cocktail parties. UCLA, in an effort to keep everyone connected and to let more faculty, staff and students meet the dogs, has been holding all sorts of sessions. We are experiencing this difficult time together so it’s also a chance to communicate, commiserate and support each other.

With the variety of virtual visits the Doods and I have been doing lately, I’m proud to say that my tech “savvyness” has grown by leaps and bounds.

ELBEE That is not a word. And “leaps and bounds” means that she can now log in to a meeting and actually get the video turned on.

This week some of the teams from the People Animal Connection did a teleconference with the history department. I think that’s what it’s called when you can see everyone, including yourself, in little squares on the screen.

It was going great. Students and staff from the department were so enthusiastic about meeting the dogs. Someone even commented that Gus’s hair looked just like Brian May’s from Queen. Being a fan, I loved the comparison.

ELBEE Bohemian Rhapsody is my favorite movie. Yes, we have screenings up here.

Then I had an etiquette dilemma. I noticed that my blush, which I was wearing for the first time in days, was too heavy. I didn’t know whether to discreetly try to blend it or duck out of the meeting, fix it and return.

ELBEE Is she kidding?

On another morning we did a virtual visit with the younger kids and the teens from the neuropsych units. We’ve done a couple before and have been trying to figure out ways to get the patients more engaged.

Shortly before we were going to start, Ursula, an amazing therapist whom we’ve worked with for years, e-mailed me and said how about costumes for the dogs. Having dressed up the Doods more times than I care to admit, it was a no-brainer. I threw together hats, scarves, sunglasses.

It was a hit from the beginning. The kids were laughing at the costumes and voting on the costume changes. We let them choose red hat or tan, pink tiara or blue? By the time we signed off, I was as happy as the kids had been.

A short time later, I received another e-mail from Ursula. Prior to the visit, one of the girls had been extremely withdrawn. During our onscreen costume party she had suddenly come to life. According to Ursula, “she was totally engaged and distracted while she was watching.”

It was one of those moments that make me look at Gus and Stanley, plus Charley and Elbee before them, with such incredible gratitude and wonder. No matter how many times these little miracles occur, they will never cease to amaze me.

**Elbee & Charley, gone but not forgotten.**

Happy 2nd Birthday Stanley!

Stanley turned two on May 23rd. With social distancing, a big party was out of the question so Gus was his only guest. Still, he had these fabulous balloons.

ELBEE Isn’t it a coincidence that Julia, who lives around the corner, was turning 21 and had the same fabulous balloons?

Looking back over some of the posts I’ve written about Stanley, his goofiness was a recurring theme. He often went from sort of well behaved to crazy puppy in a matter of moments.

I’m kind of amazed at how much he has changed and grown (physically and dog brain wise) over a relatively short period of time. He has been through a lot and he has accomplished a lot.

When Stanley first joined the pack, Elbee and Riley were here to guide him. Hard as it is to believe, Elbee helped teach him to stay and to heel.

ELBEE Excuse me. I practically raised him.

Riley was older but such a steady source of comfort. Stanley would often disappear, cuddled at his side. When Elbee and Riley left us, I could see Stanley, young as he was, go through his own grieving process. Somehow it seemed to make him stronger. Fortunately, Gus is now his best buddy.

At a year, to my surprise, he breezed through testing and became a registered therapy dog. Before the world shut down in March, he was working at UCLA Medical Center, Providence Tarzana Hospital and an adult health center. His goofiness and love of attention have been major assets.

On the lighter side, he filmed a segment about working dogs for a show called Dog Masters that hopefully one day will air on Animal Planet. He also filmed a small part in a movie with Mariette Hartley and her husband Jerry. It’s semi-autobiographical and Mariette, who was a big fan of Charley and Elbee, wanted Stanley to play a therapy dog.

ELBEE That’s a stretch.

Since the shelter at home orders began, Stanley has grown again. He and Gus have been doing virtual visits, cheering up UCLA patients and staff over Zoom. I can only imagine what the dogs are thinking when people are talking to them from a computer screen. Somehow their antics have brought joy and a lot of laughter.

ELBEE As you recall, only a short time ago, she didn’t have a clue as to what Zoom was.

Spending so much of this difficult time at home with me and the husband has brought out a new level of maturity in Stanley. It’s as if he senses our need for him to be a funny, loving, calming presence.

Happy birthday big guy and thank you.

Can Dogs FaceTime?

As if there’s not enough pressure with social distancing during the pandemic, we’re being advised to be social at the same time that we’re distanced. Experts keep saying that in order to ward off feelings of depression and isolation, it’s important to reach out to other people.

This creates another kind of pressure because in order to connect, unless you just want to talk on the phone, you have to be somewhat tech savvy. There are some who have issues with my peeps (yes, seniors) because we’re not up to speed. The other day I even heard a comment from someone who said that he had no patience with old people being so techno challenged.

ELBEE That was her four year old grandson Ryder.

My prior experience of any kind was occasionally FaceTiming with the daughters or grandkids. It was casual. It was fun. It wasn’t a “thing.” I figured I could get by with that. Gus and Stanley had even done it.

GUS & STANLEY We enjoy FaceTiming

Then UCLA started sending out e-mails about virtual dog visits on something called Zoom. The only Zoom I’d ever heard of was the Zoom Room, a doggy exercise place. I was pretty sure that wasn’t what they were talking about. I wanted to help but I was hesitant. How would I join a Zoom meeting? How would the dogs participate? Would I need hair and makeup?

When Ursula and Robbie, two of my favorite therapists from the neuropsych units, reached out, I decided to give it a try. I asked a few very patient friends from the People Animal Connection to help me with some casual practice. I worked on logging in, camera angles, placement for Gus and Stanley.

ELBEE Casual practice? Camera angles? It was like she was auditioning for a movie.

On the big day, semi-prepared, I logged in for our visit. I was so excited when Ursula’s masked face actually showed up on my computer screen. The virtual visit with the kids in her unit was really happening.

Apparently, Gus and Stanley were excited too because they started competing for attention. When Gus danced, Stanley did his peek-a-boo trick. As Gus waved, Stanley jumped in the air. This whole show continued when Robbie joined us with the kids in her group.

Between the dogs leaping around and my asking every two seconds if the kids could see them, it was slightly chaotic. On the bright side, there was a little applause during the few times that I managed to get the dogs in the right place.

There was also laughter. I’m sure that my not being exactly tech savvy was very entertaining for a bunch of undoubtedly tech savvy pre-teens and adolescents.

Another Sweet Coincidence

My post this week is not about me or the Doods…well not totally..

ELBEE That is shocking and to be honest a little disturbing.

Recently, I ran into a woman whom I’d met briefly in the past. From a socially responsible distance, we began chatting and commiserating. I think that is often the case these days when we’re feeling so isolated by COVID-19.

The conversation, not surprisingly, turned to dogs. When I mentioned the comfort I was getting from Gus and Stanley, she suddenly remembered from our prior, very brief meeting, that I was involved with therapy dogs.

ELBEE Is there anyone who doesn’t know?

Her voice got emotional as she began to tell me about a therapy dog visit that held special meaning for her. It was 2007 and her mother, whom I believe was near the end, was a patient at UCLA Medical Center. During that difficult time, someone brought in a “big beautiful, white dog” to see her.

Then the woman held up a photo that she had saved in her phone for all these years. To my amazement, it was my friend Laura from the People Animal Connection and her beautiful Poodle Apollo. They joined the program around the same time that Charley and I did.

Apollo and Charley were truly the old guard. Both large, striking white dogs, their memories still light up people’s faces. Their accomplishments are legendary. Apollo helped bring a little girl out of a coma. Charley got a catatonic woman to smile and pet him.

Several months ago, Laura’s newest Poodles, Jackie and Kennedy, did a pet visit station at UCLA with Stanley. I couldn’t help but think how fortunate we were to still be holding the leashes of our special dogs (you too Gus) and enabling them to create memories for patients, friends, grateful family members and staff.

The woman I met that day, happened to tell me a story of coincidence, something that is always a gift when you work with therapy dogs. The dogs leave a legacy of special memories that we may never know about. Thanks to my encounter with a near stranger, I learned about one of those moments and was able to share it with Laura.

As she told me the story and showed me the photo, the woman and I went from being virtual strangers to being almost friends. She even shared that if she was ever to get a dog, she’d name it Apollo. I swear if not for social distancing, we would have hugged.

ELBEE Did you really think I’d let her completely leave me out? Please!

Does This Mask Make Me Look Younger?

Masks were never my thing, but today, for the first time, I wore a surgical mask to the market. To give you an idea of what it took for me to put it on, I’ve always thought masks were claustrophobic and scary. I didn’t even wear them on Halloween.

There has been a lot of controversy about using masks but in the last few days the recommendations have been stronger. This message that suddenly appeared on a light pole in the neighborhood is a “sign” of the times.

ELBEE Sorry to be a negative Nellie during this global pandemic but I am groaning from that terrible pun.

My first issue was putting it on the right way. Fortunately, I have a live in surgeon who helped me with that. My next issue was just dealing with it, trying to breathe. I knew that in the best case scenario it would protect me from other people or them from me, but I needed something more.

I started searching for other positives. In the first place, let’s be honest, with half of your face covered, you look younger. Of course, I’m speaking to my fellow seniors. Not to mention, you only have to use eye make-up. That just brought up a disturbing thought. Is there going to be a run on mascara that will be worse than the run on toilet paper.

ELBEE I do see her point.

There is also a comfortable anonymity when you’re wearing a mask. The husband was quick to point out that walking the dogs with my hair sticking out, anonymity wasn’t really a given. Sadly, the hair may not be a giveaway in a few weeks when my real color shows up.

Covering your face also cuts down on stress eating which is happening a lot lately. To be honest, I have been known to grab a snack or two out of my basket at the market, but it’s difficult with the mask. And I really don’t want to be seen on those cameras, that are in every aisle, wrestling with the ties so I can eat chocolate.

With the gym closed, I started taking Gus and Stanley for such long walks, I became concerned that maybe their faces should be covered too. Most experts agree our dogs are safe from COVID-19, but there are so many unknowns. Surgical masks were out of the question so I used a little ingenuity.

CHARLEY That is very sad, thoughtful, but sad.

ELBEE This is the only type of mask they should ever be wearing. I looked fabulous.

The Universe Is Knocking

The universe truly seems to have gone crazy this week. Covid-19 is causing fear, chaos and plain old stress. People are in masks. Market shelves are empty. Restaurants are closed. Then, after a prolonged dry spell, it rained for almost 24 hours in Los Angeles. What better time to share a more positive message from the universe.

A few weeks ago, before the virus reared it’s ugly head, I was visiting at Providence Tarzana with Stanley. I was about to knock on the door of a patient’s room when it suddenly flew open. The hospital rabbi, who was just leaving, saw me and Stanley and burst out laughing.

About to end her visit with the teenage patient and his mom, she had asked if there was anything else she could do for them. Simultaneously they’d answered that they’d love a dog visit. A moment later, there we were.

The patient seemed quite ill and I believe had gone through many hospitalizations, but when he met Stanley all I saw was total joy. At his request, I positioned Stanley next to him on the bed. The boy was suddenly so relaxed and at ease with my huge puppy cuddled at his side. Somehow the topic turned to sports and we were off and running.

We talked about the baseball scandal, agreeing that the title should be taken away from the Astros but not awarded to our beloved Dodgers. We shared our adoration for former Dodger announcer Vin Scully who, coincidentally, attends a church across from the patient’s grandma’s house. We both thought that Joe Davis and Orel Hershiser were excellent replacement choices when Vin retired.

Next we moved on to basketball. That’s when the mom, not really a sports fanatic, joined in. She said that she’d seen a tie-dyed Bill Walton at a Grateful Dead concert. Then she went back to what she was doing. Both Laker fans but also amazed at what the Clippers were doing, the patient and I applauded the season. Next it was UCLA basketball, men’s and women’s. We shared our excitement over a game winning buzzer beater the night before.

Looking back at our conversation, it’s hard to believe what has happened in the interim. Baseball and basketball seasons are on hold. March Madness has been cancelled. I am just grateful that on that particular day, all was well in the sports world and we were able to bond. Talking sports while petting Stanley had transported the boy away from his hospital room and his pain. We were simply two overzealous fans that the universe had brought together.