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Elsie's Gift
 

by
Walks Far Woman

 

 

With mixed feelings, I drove toward the nursing home that day.  A part of me didn't want to go but another part wanted, maybe even needed, the experience.  I knew it would be an emotional one.  It always was.  Tricky, my little rescue dog, lay on the passenger seat; he looked so handsome in his bright yellow PAT Dog (Pets As Therapy) coat.

Tricky had been a breeze to train in obedience.  He was very sharp, with an obvious desire to learn new 'Tricks' as we called them.  Being a sociable little dog, Tricky loved everybody, no matter who they were.  His gentle temperament and love of people had earned him his PAT Dog title.

Our first visit to the nursing home, although nerve-racking for me, had been a great success.  I needed to be careful around some of them, because they often tried to grab Tricky.  A retired veterinary surgeon, Dr. Lewis, called Tricky a naughty dog and tried to hit him on quite a few occasions.  However, the majority of the residents loved to cuddle him and have him sit on their knee.  One old lady was convinced he was a bird!  I never corrected anyone; Tricky and I were whatever or whomever they wanted us to be.  Tricky took it all in stride and wagged his little curly tail to all.

An elderly lady named Elsie lived on one of the upper floors.  She was bedridden, suffered from Alzheimer's disease, and lived in a world of silence, never speaking to anybody.  Most of her time was spent lying flat, staring at the ceiling.  At the head of her bed, where she couldn't see it, was a portrait in oils of a little white dog.  The staff nurse told me on my first visit how much Elsie had loved him.  It upset me to think of her being parted from her pet by this cruel disease, so I decided that Tricky and I would try to reach Elsie through her silent barrier.

We had been visiting Elsie for a few weeks.  I would sit and hold her arthritic hand and talk to her about dogs, while Tricky curled up on her bed next to her leg.  Occasionally, I placed Elsie's hand on Tricky, helping her stroke him, getting little response.

On this particular day, we did our rounds downstairs and Tricky was the perfect example of gentleness.  One of the patients, a man, was extremely upset; the nursing staff was having a terrible time calming him down.  I took Tricky to visit with him.  It was scary at first, but before long the man was laughing and joking and cuddling Tricky so tight, I feared he would squeeze the life out of him.  We visited each patient, one by one, until it was time to see Elsie.

We made our way up the stairs to her bedside.  I lowered Tricky onto the bed and placed one of her crooked hands on his back.  Then, holding her other hand in mine I chattered away, telling her stories about my dogs.  Tricky lay peacefully in the quiet room, resting his chin on Elsie's knee, listening intently.

Elsie moved her hand on Tricky's back. Astonished, I watched it tremble and shake as she tried to stroke him.

"Elsie, you are stroking Tricky!"  The words stuck in my throat.  "That's it.  Stroke him some more.  He's a nice little dog; he won't hurt you.  Feel him.  Isn't he soft?" 

Tricky sat up.  His sudden movement caused Elsie's hand to fly up in the air where it came to rest on his head.  She looked directly into Tricky's eyes as he moved to gently lick her hand.  Elsie eased her hand out of mine; I thought she was going to stroke Tricky with that hand, too.  Instead, she brought it up to my cheek.  With a great struggle, her eyes met mine and she whispered, "Thank you."

 

Walks Far Woman was born in Oxford, England, but currently resides in sunny Texas with her Native American husband. Walks only discovered her passion for writing around two years ago, but has written prose and poetry nonstop ever since. She is a member of the Amazing Writers Group on AOL. Walks loves to write poetry, short stories, humor and inspirational pieces, but doubts she has a novel in her. One of her pieces, Embracing Mother Earth, was published in the April '99 edition of Emotions Literary Magazine. Her interests are: writing, reading, animals, nature, Native American crafts and crystals.

She writes:  "My inspiration for writing Elsie's Gift came from my desire to show how animals can, and do, make a difference in our lives.  I wanted to share with people the plight of the elderly and the infirm who, although seem unreachable to us, can be touched through the unconditional love of an animal or person. This was a special moment in my life and one that I will never forget. If I may, I would like to say thank you Elsie and Tricky for a wonderful lesson." 

 

Love Me, Love My Dog by Sir Joshua Reynolds is available from Art.com

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