up pets because they could no longer care for them, and seeing the dogs brings back happy memories. That was the case for Elmcroft resi-


dent Lorraine Dickey, whose eyes imme- diately filled with tears when she was asked what the visit meant to her. She had to give her golden Labrador retriever to her son when she moved into the as- sisted living facility. “I miss him so bad,” Lorraine said,


showing a picture of her dog, named Abraham Lincoln, adding, “I know he’s OK.”


Another resident, Sheila Webb, said


she loves dogs and always had a dog in her home, especially while her five chil- dren were growing up. The therapy dogs are special because they are so well trained, she said. “We all love them, that’s for sure,” Sheila said. “You’re never too old for a dog.” To illustrate how drastically a person


Elmcroft resident Ken Steirs smiles as he pets Katie O’Hara McLintock.


can be touched by a therapy dog, Lynda said during a past visit to a senior facil- ity, a resident with Alzheimer’s was un- responsive. But once her therapy dog, a 9½-year-old Cavalier King Charles spaniel named Deputy Barney Fife, put


LIVING WELL  JULY/AUGUST 2019  21


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