Isabelle Cindy Chaffee and Felicia Welton

Isabelle

Cindy Chaffee - Barton, VT and Felicia Welton - Winooski,VT

This is the story of a Black Lab / Golden Retriever cross named Isabelle. When my husband and I lost our Doberman of 10 years, we were devastated. We told ourselves that we would not have any more dogs. But a house is not a home without a dog, and our house felt very lonely after about 6 months. I began to look for a dog online. Every time I did, he would catch me and remind me “No more dogs”. Then every once in a while, a funny thing would happen, I would catch him looking.

I was an evening nurse in a long-term care facility and was often home around 1:00 am. One morning I arrived home to have my husband greet me. I immediately felt that something was wrong. When he told me to sit down, I knew that it had to be something bad. Then, he told me about a dog, this dog was Isabelle. The elderly people who owned her stopped taking care of her. Their neighbors stepped in and arranged for Isabelle to have a new home, ours. Not only was I relieved, but I was also over the moon. The next day, we went to the mall and we were greeted by a sweet dog pulling on the end of the woman’s lead trying to get to us. Our lives were never the same.

Isabelle was a medium-sized dog with a soft black coat. She had a spring in her step when went out on walks. She would keep her head up, tail out and prance when we went walking in the neighborhood as to say, ‘Here I am, come and pet me.” Her most remarkable feature, however, was her kind brown eyes. Those eyes could melt the strongest of hearts.

I knew Isabelle would make a perfect therapy dog. She had had a warm temperament that could provide love and comfort for those people in need. When I had her certified with Therapy Dogs of Vermont, she passed with flying colors. To begin her Therapy Dog duties, we visited several nursing homes. When my father was admitted to the ICU, I didn’t hesitate to bring her along with me to see him. The staff loved her so much that they gave Isabelle a volunteer badge. While I was a nurse manager at a long-term care facility, I noticed other administrative staff brought their dogs to work. When I asked if it was OK to bring Isabelle to work with me, the answer was “sure, if she is a kind dog.” I assured them she was, and everyone immediately fell in love with her. I often would leave my office and return to find Isabelle had been hijacked by other administrative staff who would take her into their offices for a visit. Some purchased a bed and water bowls for her to use. It certainly took Isabelle to care for a village.

Isabelle was not only loved by the staff but by the residents too. She would sit with the dying patients, often without Fall 2021

me at her side. One dementia resident did not know their family but remembered Isabelle. When another resident was being combative and yelling, Isabelle and I decided to try to work with him. While the rest of the staff could not approach him, Isabelle could. He looked down at her and said, “OH my what a big kitty.” She soothed him, and he continued to pet her happily until supper time. She just knew how to calm a resident who could not be calmed.

When I decided to no longer continue as a manager, the administrator still permitted Isabelle to come to the facility. She knew her way around the building and made her way to both nurse’s stations and to the administrative offices that she used to frequent. She had her own bed in the nurse station where I was working. Everyone knew that we would have a good night when Isabelle was on duty. While Isabelle was amazing with the elderly, she absolutely loved kids. Any kid encountered by Isabelle was an immediate friend. We live close to a school on a hill overlooking the playground. Isabelle could often be seen sitting on the hill, watching the kids. During the summer, she would sit and wait for them to come back to school. When we purchased another property, also next to a school I knew there would be trouble. Isabelle tried to sneak to the playground to join the kids and when I caught her, she stopped, looked back, then kept on going. My kids were her kids, and though they are adults fully grown, they doted on her just the same.

Once we opened our home to one dog, it was only a matter of time before we got more. First was the black lab rescue Luka. Luka was a high-strung puppy, and Isabelle didn’t get along with her at first. Imagine this soft loving dog growling and snarling! But once Isabelle asserted dominance as the matriarch of the house, the two got along better and could be seen lying side by side. Next came Emma the Cairn Terrier (also a rescue). Small in stature, but big in personality. Emma didn’t take any nonsense from the big dogs. She would often play with (terrorize) Luka, which gave Isabelle more time to put her head in someone’s lap for pets. Emma also would take Isabelle on an adventure in the back yard and once got her digging into a woodpile after a creature that ran into it for safety.

Isabelle was a seasoned traveler as well. Her sisters, Luka and Emma compete in nation dock diving competitions. Luka was so energetic with a strong toy drive, that she is the dog that got us started in the sport of dock diving. Emma is a fierce competitor that is often underesFall 2021 timated due to her size. We competed all over New England and New York, and Isabelle traveled with us as the most favored member of the team. She could usually be seen in the crowd supporting her sisters, surrounded by a group of children.

Isabelle’s final years were rough for me. She stopped eating most things and I had to get creative. We searched the internet for different things to try to keep her eating. The dock diving community was also a great asset to me while I struggled to feed her. I would do anything I could think of to feed that dog. I ended up having to spoon-feed her the meals. What she liked at the end was eggs over easy. But when she collapsed and could not get up again broke my heart. The other two dogs would lie with her to keep her company. She was never left alone until it was time to say goodbye. It was amazing what this dog did for us as a family and in her community. She instinctively pulled people toward her who needed someone to talk to. She never could answer you but she didn’t need to. Her soft brown eyes said all the talking for her. They said, ‘ you are loved’