Abbey's Story
Text Box: We always had a dog. I always loved our dogs. When my daughter was 4, I got her a golden retriever puppy. We never had one before. I’ll never have another breed! She and Stefanie grew up together and our dog, Amber, died at 13 and ½ years old. I didn’t get to spend a lot of time with Amber like Stefanie did, I was busy being a wife and mom and all the things associated with that. But I loved Amber and we always knew she loved us. We can sense that from our pets. Then Amber was gone, Stef was off to college, and it was just me and my husband. It was time for a puppy! I needed to be needed again. So I found myself one Saturday afternoon sitting in the middle of someone’s basement floor with 4 female 3 week old Goldens surrounding me. How do you pick one? This was going to be my special puppy. I was going to give her all that spare time I had and show her she was loved. Little did I know what she would show me over the next 7 years. I picked the one that licked me the most--seemed sensible. She was the smallest, and apparently needed a lot of love and attention. She fit in one hand and seemed content to just lick away! Three weeks later we went to pick her up and I needed to carry her in two arms and hang on tight to my new wiggly love-starved baby. Those first few months with Abbey set the pace for our lives. We played fetch stick, ball, stone, chicken, whatever we could find for hours. She helped me plant flowers, following along behind me while I dug a hole and patted in a flower. Which she immediately dug up and dropped at my feet with a look of joy on her snout. She slept at the top of my pillow, and every night as I drifted off to sleep, she would reach over and give me a lick on the cheek. I wanted to do something special with Abbey. Something we could share. I wanted her to be one of those “therapy dogs” I had heard about. I had no idea what it was about, but I knew “we” wanted to do it. We went to the widely advertised local “canine college” and Abbey was quick to learn. She couldn’t wait to please, but she did not want to be around the other dogs. It was hard to train her in a room full of dogs she was obviously afraid of. Through friends and circumstances, we met Jan, founder of Jack’s Dogs. She agreed to give Abbey some private lessons. The verdict: she did not know she was a dog, she thought she was people! Shhhh….don’t ever tell her. Abbey obeyed well and we practiced to get ready to try out for Delta. Then the shoe dropped. I got cancer. I was scared and depressed. I hung on to my best friend and little night time “kisses” like never before. My husband tells me that for the week I was in the hospital, Abbey didn’t eat and moped around the house. When I came home, all on her own, she became my nurse. She lay beside me when I slept. She’d stick her paw in my face to wake me up when it was time for a pain pill. And as I got better, she moved a little further away so I had to do more for myself. I was in awe of how she showed her love---this was not something we taught her. After a long recuperation time, we went back to Jack’s Dogs and after being away almost two years, Abbey passed her Canine Good Citizenship test on the first try. We tested for Delta and after finally receiving our certification, Jack’s Dogs was able to give us some facilities to visit. And my role of having to give Abbey a happy life and lots of love switched as she showed me “her stuff.” Her abilities encouraged me and helped me become whole again. There was the first time at the nursing home with the dementia patients. We went from one to one and introduced ourselves. After meeting everyone, Abbey pulled us back over to “Evie” who was so bent over at the shoulders that her head almost touched the top of her walker. Abbey stuck her head under the walker and lifted her head up to Evie so she could pet her. By the third visit, Abbey knew all the residents’ names and I only had to say let’s go see…… and we did! One special time “Joan” was huddled in the corner of a sofa crying, all alone. The nurse said she had been there all day. I told Abbey it looked like Joan needed her and Abbey went right over, climbed up on the couch and lay her head on Joan’s lap. Joan wrapped her arms around Abbey’s neck and just started to laugh. I cried. Here was my dog, who I wanted to be sure felt love, showing me how to love. They threw a birthday party for Abbey, go out the best linens and sat her at the table for cake and ice cream. She’s delivered valentines to them, Easter eggs, Christmas gifts and just lots of fun, unconditional love. I’ve always marveled how she would assess a person and then make a decision as to which side to go to for petting or kisses, working around oxygen tubes, walkers, wheelchairs, etc. She’s so intuitive! There were days at the Masonic lodge where we played tennis ball for an hour while ladies squealed and laughed as Abbey chased the ball or caught it in mid-air. One lady tells Abbey to come see Grandma, and Abbey goes right to her and gives her love. And there is “Nate” who always tells the nurse on Saturday morning to “make sure that dog comes to see him in his room today.” She’s brightened so many peoples’ day. They get so excited when we walk in. I’ve started to feel so special as Abbey’s mom, even though she is always the center of attention. There are pictures of Abbey and her special friends hanging all over the hallways. When we leave home to go for a visit, she puts on her vest and runs to the car, excited to know she is going to see the “ladies and guys.” I’m excited because I know we are going to have fun. She has shown me a different kind of love, and I am always in awe of how she is with these fragile people and how much they love her and she returns their feelings. She has helped them smile, laugh, enjoy themselves for a while, have a visitor when often they have none. There are times she has sat for 15 minutes at someone’s’ knees while they just stroked her head. They know her, they wait for her, they love her. She returns that love twofold. I have been touched by her in a way I can never explain. She has shown me so much, and when we sit and her big brown eyes stare into mine, I can see her very soul and it smiles at me, and gives me love (and a little kiss on the cheek at bedtime every night.) I am proud of her, I am in awe of her, I am healed. Thanks to Jack’s DOGs for this journey in my life. Thanks to God for my Abbey. Patt Thompson Abbey’s Owner and Jack’s DOGs Volunteer