CANINE Comfort

He may not be a resident, but Grady the great Dane has become an integral part of the Masonic Village at Lafayette Hill community.

At 185 pounds, he definitely makes his presence known. Residents stop to stare at the gentle giant or pet him when he roams the hallways alongside his owner, Rich Campbell, son of resident Ed Campbell.

“I bring him by once a week to visit with my dad,” Rich said. “You can see the smile on everyone’s face when he comes by. People see his size and can’t believe how big he is, but if a two-pound Yorkie barks at him, he runs and hides. He’s such a sweetheart.”

Prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rich would bring Grady to the front lobby so he could visit with the residents. He sees fewer people now, but he’s still good for morale, Ed said. “He cheers people up. The dog has nothing but love in his heart. He loves to cuddle with people.”

Rich, who lives in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, grew up around dogs and always rescued golden retrievers. He and his partner Nicole, however, fell in love with Grady, who was only a baby when they got him a little over three years ago.

“We still want another dog, but we don’t have room right now,” Rich said. “You need a big car. We have a truck so Grady can sit in the back seat. He gets excited when he comes here [to Masonic Village]. He knows where he is going.”

Ed definitely wouldn’t mind if his son got another dog. He enjoys spending quality time with both Rich and Grady.

Resident Angie Myshko (shown above with Grady and Ed ), Ed’s neighbor, said she and another resident like to call themselves “Grady’s Groupies,” or his cheerleaders.

“I have more photos of Grady in my apartment than I do of my own kids,” Angie said. “Grady is so gentle and loveable, and he sits on my lap. He’s bigger than me. I fell in love with him when he was a baby. I sat on the floor and played with him, and we’ve been friends ever since.”

Masonic Village at Lafayette Hill allows residents in retirement living and personal care to bring in small pets – dogs, cats and birds, mainly – upon admission. Ed, who serves on the Retirement Living Residents’ Association, has lived at Masonic Village for almost four years and said coming here was “the best decision I made in a long time.”

“The people and the staff are great,” he said. “Everyone in the dining room is terrific. I go there every night for dinner. I’ve made a lot of friends here. I like that it’s a big family. My family doesn’t have to take care of me. Everything is done for me here.”

Resident Ellen Scarcelle (top right) has always been an animal lover. She was never allowed pets growing up, so as soon as she was on her own, she surrounded herself with dogs, cats and birds, too.

She owned a Westiepoo named Lola who died in 2019, 10 days after her husband passed. When her daughter, who owned two dogs, decided to separate them because they were not compatible, Ellen agreed to take one of them. She has had the dog, Parker, for seven years now. He’s a 10-year-old yellow lab mix.

She moved with Parker to Masonic Village in June 2020 and has enjoyed the people she’s met, including other pet lovers.

“Having my dog here, there is a comfort level,” she said. “He’s a piece of home, someone to talk to. It sounds strange, but sometimes just petting him releases stress for me. He is my baby.”

Parker came from a pound in Georgia and is an anxious dog, but for the most part gets along well with other dogs, Ellen said. He has a “special friend” in his hallway, resident Catherine Cotter, who feeds him dog biscuits. She has no pets but keeps the biscuits for when her son and his dog come to visit.

Dog lovers at Masonic Village at Lafayette Hill enjoy access to a small dog park on campus, where they and their canines can bond with others. Paws of the Spirit, which provides comprehensive animal-assisted therapy for older adults, regularly brings rabbits and guinea pigs to visit.

Big or small, animals leave a huge pawprint on residents’ hearts.