Therapy

Tonight, my dog and I had another therapy session. No, we're not in therapy, we provide the therapy. We belong to a pet therapy group - group members visit hospitals, nursing homes, care centers, etc. with our pets. My dog and I visit a county health center (it combines the functions of a nursing home, some hospital functions and a long-term care center) once a month. We've been doing this for long enough that a number of the residents remember us and look forward to our visits. I had been feeling a bit "growly" when I got home from work today - nothing special, just that it was gloomy and chilly all day, the days are getting shorter, etc. Anyway, I had to prod myself to change into the "uniform" for visiting - a sweatshirt with the group's logo on it - and get ready to go. Strange as it may sound, I always enjoy our visits to this place. The people who are there are some of the neediest people you can meet, and a lot of them don't remember us from one month to the next. It's not comparing my state to theirs that makes me feel good, though. It's having to interact with other people, and to at least be polite to them. In other words, I'm forced out of myself - and in getting out of myself, I improve my state of mind. It also improves my mental state to realize that I've made someone else's day by showing up with my fuzzy, black dog and letting them pet her. That was absolutely the case today. One of the residents, an older man, was sitting in his usual place, but looking rather dour. I walked over to him and asked if he'd like to pat my dog. He shook his head, no. I said "Are you sure? She's wagging her tail pretty good." He looked at my dog, standing there, wagging her tail at him, and he got a little bit of a smile on his face, like he was cheering up, but didn't want anyone to know. He still didn't want to pat her, though. So I backed Sheba up to him and waved her tail over his hand - that did it! He chuckled and smiled, and I knew that, at least for a few moments, he felt better. And that's what it's all about, Charlie Brown.