Oh Skipper!

I grew up with Doberman Pinschers and have always considered myself a “big dog” kind of person. When I met my husband, I didn’t know what to make of his son’s little Cocker Spaniel named Skipper. Her ears were so long they got wet whenever she drank from her water dish, and she looked more like a character from The Muppets than an actual dog. As a new couple, both on second marriages, we were blending our families together and I realized very quickly that included animals as well. My Great Pyrenees/Border Collie mix (remember, I’m a big dog person) and Skipper really couldn’t have cared less about each other; and to be honest, Skipper and I didn’t exactly hit it off at first either.

Then one morning I was rushing (as most working parents can relate) to get my kids off to school, and I looked in the rear-view mirror. There sat my two boys with Skipper right in between them - all three of them were ready to go! I had to weigh my options between making everyone late by attempting to extract the dog from the backseat or just bring her to work with me. I sighed, rolled my eyes, started the car, and said “Oh Skipper!” That was three years ago and since then, Skipper has become ‘The True Love’ of so many residents here at Partridge House Assisted Living.

Whenever I am asked to explain the importance of dogs in the lives of seniors, I typically go off on tangents about anything from the tactile discrimination centers of our brains, to how soft touch soothes those living with dementia and how animals spark fond memories of times past. I’ll quote studies that show seniors who spend time with animals report less bouts of depression, a reduc tion in anxiety, get more exercise and have lower blood pressure. Pet therapy is noted as an evidenced based non-pharmacological approach to dementia-related behaviors.

When it comes down to it though, dogs are all heart and unlike humans, offer no judgment. Dogs love without question. Skipper’s training as a therapy dog here at Partridge House has made it so she is able to gently interact with our residents in a meaningful way by picking up cues, reading body lan guage and responding to commands. Skipper’s instincts though, provide our residents with so much more.

When Skipper walks on to our Memory Care floor, the faces of our residents light up! They don’t necessar ily remember her from the day before and it isn’t that they remember her name. She is called Butterscotch, Flipper, Pipper, Curly, Blondie and answers to ALL of them. They don’t remember if she can do any tricks or whether or not she can fetch (she can’t). They simply remember how she makes them feel.

Whenever a resident may be transitioning to end of life care, Skipper instinctively gravitates to that person. This isn’t a result of any training of hers but seems to be rooted on a more spiritual plane as she provides comfort in ways no human possibly could…without words, judgment or conditions. Quite frankly, Skipper can go places deep down inside that humans cannot.

Skipper has now been incorporated into our recreation and memory care programs and has been the star of some pretty hilarious marketing videos (check out our Facebook Page to watch!). When I ask Skipper if she’s ready for “work,” she bolts out the front door and into the car – there is no stopping her. This dog is now one of the most valuable assets to our team here at Partridge House. I’m so grateful each time I see a resident’s face light up when they see Skipper. She has truly become part of their journey through life, and it has been pretty fun for me to be along for the ride. Unlike Skipper though, I don’t hang my head out of the window.