On Tuesday, we went to the Terrace Rehab facility in Gainesville.  Jackie is my almost-3-year-old cream colored lab.  He loves our visits with kids, where he is always the initiator for contact and ear scratches.  With adults, he is a bit more reserved.  While he willingly approaches adults, he usually waits until they reach for him before he responds. While he tolerates wheelchairs and hospital beds, he always seems ready to move on.

We spent about 30 minutes at The Terrace moving in and out of rooms, going to bedsides and chair sides, getting ear scratches and smiles.  We were on our way to the exit when we encountered a family member outside of a room, whom we had met at the entrance earlier.  Since she previously expressed an interest in our program, I asked her if she would like us to visit with her mom.  She did, so we entered the semi-private room and visited with “Mom” who was on the window side of the room.

As we were visiting, I could not help but hear the conversation coming from the bedside on the other side of the curtain.  I heard a husband trying desperately to get a response from his fading wife.  He sweetly told her he loved her and kept asking her if she could hear him.  As we moved to leave the room, it was easy to see the sadness and despair in the husband’s face.  I asked him if he wanted to pet Jackie.  I no more had the words out of my mouth before he started loving on Jackie.  He then told me that his wife was in her final hours.  My heart was breaking for him.

Then Jackie, out of the blue, walked over to his wife’s bed and tried to get up on the bed to snuggle with her.  I was shocked.  He has never done this….not even when we would visit a family member in a similar situation. Jackie was not to be deterred. Then Jackie, the dog who does not initiate contact with adults, moved to the head of the bed and began to kiss the wife. While the wife did not respond, it was clearly a special moment for the husband. He was so very appreciative that we had stopped to visit and went on to tell us about the dogs he and his wife previously owned.  We parted with a smile on his face, and a lump in my throat.

I don’t know how Jackie knew….but he did, and that is all that mattered.

Thanks to you and all of your leadership team for making this opportunity available to us!  You guys are the best.

My Best – Lynne and Jackie