Fuzzies Wuzzies

Today, I decided to blog another funny story about our beloved puppies. About three years ago my Dad was in a local nursing home for recovering after having extensive brain surgery and so he could have physical therapy to help him get back in his feet.

Obviously, this was also way before any covid restrictions that we now have in nursing homes and hospitals. The nearby nursing home stated that my Dad could have visitors including pets. so little did the nursing home know that we had two dogs. So Lexi got to go see Pop Pop first, as she was his favorite pup and the fact she was a very well behaved pup. Lexi brought my Dad so much joy being able to see her in person during his rehabilitation.

Recently, I had gotten Shadow, a German Shepherd female puppy, and I had her training to become a therapy dog. I decided it would be good practice to take Shadow in to visit the nursing home, too. However, I went on a different day, so not to wear Dad out with too many visitors at one time. First, we went to his room and we quickly saw he wasnt in his bed. The nursing staff stated my Dad was up in rehab having physical therapy. So I asked if we could go say Hi and the staff said yes. Shadow was a bit of a rambunctious pup, being only 2 years old, so I kept her on a short leash, as we walked the hallways and rode the elevator. The dear elderly people in the physical therapy area absolutely loved seeing and petting my puppy. Shadow enjoyed all the attention, too.

After Dad’s PT time, we went back to his room and on the way we ran into a the nurse, who was literally so scared of dogs. It was hilarious trying to keep Shadow from trying not to greet the nurse, so we quickly went the other way. Here, was a nurse who not scared of sticking people with needles, but she literally could not get over her fear of my fuzzy wuzzy puppy.

I really wish people would not judge a dog based on their type or size of a dog. I agree a person should be cautious around any dog, who has been trained or not. Most dogs can sense when a person is scared, so running the opposite way could cause a reaction such as the the dog chasing you. The person instead should spend time asking the owner of the dog if a dog is friendly or not. Always get the dog’s owner’s permission to pet their dog. Any smart trained dog owner knows if their dog is gonna create a ruckus, they’ll know to walk way the opposite direction. Otherwise, be prepared to have an untrained dog to may try to jump up on you, the pup might try to bark at you , and yes , the dog certainly will get its doghair all over your clothes.

Today, the nurse probably would still run the other direction, as Shadow is now twice the size she was then. Anyway, I leave this blog in saying be kind to doggies, as they’re someone’s fuzzy wuzzy. Even if there are two them, pups bring hope, motivation, and unspeakable joy into our lives.