From May 2006 until December 2013, I had the honor and privilege of being the owner of a registered therapy dog named Buster.
We visited Heartland of West Ashley Rehab Center and Nursing Home from around July 2006 until the week before Buster's death (cancer) in December 2013.
Buster LOVED those visits so very much. He had a routine and knew exactly what to do and where to go. He enjoyed dressing up for the patients on special occasions, like his Halloween outfit below. He would wear that hat and cape for hours and never try to take them off. My good boy. I will always miss him.
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| Buster (2005-2013) |
Buster was very well trained. He had a lot of tricks he would do for the patients that they enjoyed. Perhaps their favorite of Buster's tricks was when he would say his prayers. I would hold my arm down level for Buster and he would put his front paws on my arm and bow his head between them. This trick was always a big hit with the patients, and many of them would ask Buster to do it for them again and again.
There used to be a retired priest who lived there who would always ask Buster to say his prayers, and, of course, Buster would oblige. Then the priest would bless Buster, but truly I was the one who was blessed to get to witness such an exchange.
Buster seemed to realize this was a solemn thing. He would sit so still for the priest to bless him. If you knew Buster, you know that was a miracle! Buster was a wiggly boy most of the time.
That priest's face would light up every time he saw us coming. He had the best smile.
Buster was also well known for "dying" when you would shoot him with your finger and say, "Bang!" He would fall over on his side and lay very very still for a few seconds, but his little nub of a tail would be wagging the whole time. This always got a big laugh from the patients even though many of them had seen it many times before. There was just something so joyful about Buster thinking he was tricking us by playing dead. He was so pleased with himself. Too funny!
Buster and I met all kinds of people in the nursing home. There were former preachers, homemakers, bankers, store owners, military officers, a retired dean, artists, and even one professional dancer.
The dancer was a man who absolutely loved dogs, so Buster and I spent a good bit of time with him. It made me sad to see a dancer spending his final days in a wheelchair, but Buster didn't care about any of that. His only objective was to let that man pet him. He would position himself right beside the wheelchair so the man could easily reach him and then Buster would look to me for a treat.
Buster always knew when he was doing good and deserved a treat. Makes me smile to think of it.
The patients would sometimes ask if they could give Buster a treat, and most of the time I would hand them a treat and let them give it to him. Those people became Buster's favorites, of course.
Many of the people wanted to tell us about their dogs. There was one lady who used to have a dog named Rags. She would laugh and talk about Rags every week. She missed Rags. Rags died before I was born, but he lived bright and whole in her memory. Buster always reminded her of Rags.
Another lady always told us that she just liked little dogs, and then she would call Buster over to her and pet and pet him with the biggest smile on her face. I'm assuming she meant she liked living with little dogs because she sure seemed to like big dogs too!
Buster always made a point to stop by that lady's room. Even if the door was closed, he would insist on visiting. Then one day he just passed the room by! I mentioned to the nurse how odd that was for Buster to not want to go visit, and the nurse said the lady passed away that morning.
Now. How did Buster know?
There was another time Buster pushed a door open and barged into a room dragging me along behind him saying, "Buster! You know better!" Inside that room was a mother sitting on the bed with her blind 30something year old daughter who was crying. It was her first day in the rehab part of the facility and she was feeling overwhelmed. Buster went right up to her and nosed her hand on top of his head. By the time we left everyone was laughing and talking and the mother thanked me profusely for bring Buster to visit.
I said, "Thank Buster. He brought me in this room." They smiled happily.
Therapy dog work is the most rewarding thing I've ever done. People would always thank me for visiting them, but honestly, truth be told, I didn't do it totally for them, I also did it for me. I left the nursing home every week feeling that I had received a thousand blessings. It was just THE BEST.
The dogs I have now are not well suited to being trained as therapy dogs, but I treasure my time with Buster, the therapy dog extraordinaire, and I hope to one day be able to do therapy dog work again. I hope I hope I hope....
The man in the photo above had to transfer to a more intensive care facility in the end. I hope he recovered. He was at Heartland for several years, and he always loved Buster.
This man LOVED to read, so Buster and I would stay in his room a long time while he told me about his latest book. I really missed him when they transferred him.
This lady LOVED Buster the most of all. She actually got better and went home in 2008 after spending more than two years in the nursing home.
I wish I knew what happened to her. She was Buster's very favorite patient at Heartland for a time. He would DASH into her room as soon as we got off the elevator. She would always laugh and greet him. So precious. She was giving him a treat in this photo. Buster was always so very gentle taking treats from the patients. Such a good dog!
If you have a dog who loves strangers and can be calm and gentle with them, I'd highly recommend for you to consider therapy dog work.
If you have such a dog and ever find yourself wondering if you should train your dog to be a therapy dog, I say, "Yes! You should absolutely do it!" You'll be glad you did.
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