When we lived in PA we went to the nursing home in our neighborhood weekly. They put out a flyer looking for pets to visit once and it grew from there
I would dress Kimber up with a bandanna. If it was a holiday she might wear a costume. She had angel wings for Halloween and bunny ears for Easter. She even wore balloons once.
We would first go to the downstairs cafeteria where there was a group get together at that time. She would visit most of the people in the room and they would feed her treats I brought along. She might do shake or play dead occasionally.
Next we'd make the rounds of the downstairs rooms that wanted her to visit. She had a list of regulars we saw every week. One lady was 100 years old and used to save bananas from her lunch to feed Kimber. Others would feed her pretzels or whatever. Some fed her treats I had brought along. Mostly it was a little chit-chat, feed Kimber a treat and pet her a little.
After we finished the first floor, we'd take a break outside. I'd fill a water bowl in the water fountain and give her an opportunity to go to the bathroom.
Next we'd go upstairs in the elevator and go to the upstairs gathering room where some of the Alzheimer's patients were having a get together. We'd visit there although not all of them were aware of her or interested in her. Then we'd visit her regular rooms upstairs.
Some of the people who were confused would call her by their dog's names. Some who were hard of hearing called her "Timber". She loved the attention.
A couple of things that worked for me:
- I had to keep her on a leash. The staff wanted me to let her off leash in the gathering rooms but they were also the eating rooms and off leash she would dive between wheel chairs to get things under the table.
- Kimber is a very slobbery newf so I would bring 3-4 drool rags. Most for her, but 1 for people who got slimed to wipe their hands.
She and I both loved it. The people there other than one or two couldn't wait for her to come. Once the downstairs group got together and made special doggy treats for Kimber. Boy did she love those!
I hope you have as much fun as we did. I'm going tonight to an intro meeting for the county group here that does it. It's much more formal than when Kimber and I went before. They have temperament testing before you can join. They also go as groups often.
