Face grinning, tail wagging and a taut leash behind her, Misty, a mixed-breed dog, led her owner, Vi Herring, down the hallway at a local retirement home amid calls seeking her attention.
"Dragged her owner" probably would be more accurate.
She's just so excited to see everyone," Herring, 68, said from over her shoulder.
Herring and Misty, who serves as a therapy dog, frequent Crawford Healthcare & Rehabilitation, 2010 Main St. in Van Buren, and visit with the elderly residents to break the monotony of their day. Even though Misty pulled Herring most of the time ? Herring was out of breath after a few laps around the retirement home ? the animal was only a command away from stopping and waiting for the Rudy resident.
The most striking thing about Misty is how polite she was. If a resident didn't want her near, then she would just move to the next person. The majority of the residents couldn't wait to pet her, and she would oblige by patiently sitting, looking at them with ice-blue eyes and putting her head within reach.
Opal Groman, a 76-year-old resident who has lived at the home for four years, said she grew up in the country, so dogs were a necessary part of her life.
"Dogs bring back all kinds of memories," she said while waiting for a game of bingo to begin.
Herring, who has also been a missionary in China, said she never planned to use Misty as a therapy dog. Her husband, Tim, is in charge of maintenance at the home, and he told everyone about Misty "and her beautiful blue eyes," Herring said. Then Toni Holderfield, the home's executive director, invited Herring to show Misty at one of the home's dog shows.
That's when Misty, who weighs about 85 pounds, approached a man with Parkinson's disease and showed how gentle she could be.
"He was in a wheelchair bed that was real high, and Misty jumped up on his bed and just loved that little guy so much," Herring said. ". I want you to know she was so incredibly gentle; it was unbelievable."
Holderfield said Misty is just one of many animals that frequent the home. Dogs of all sizes, cats and even Holderfield's Quaker parrot visit with the residents. There is also a bird aviary in one section of the home.
"I'm all for pet therapy, any pet therapy," Holderfield said from her office.
She has witnessed how a dog can help a resident in a retirement home. Near the end of 2010, Holderfield said, a family friend had just rescued a litter of Labrador puppies, and she and her husband adopted the litter's runt. The puppy had to be bottle fed, and she knew she couldn't care for the puppy and do her job effectively, so she allowed a resident, whom she described as "very sad," to care for it.
"It got to the point where that was her dog, and she just let me take it home," Holderfield said.
As it grew, the dog took to a habit of laying across the woman's legs; a fact that made a state surveyor nervous. The surveyor tried to explain to the woman that it wasn't in her best interest to have the now-large Labrador laying on her.
"She said, 'That dog is my best interest, and you can leave,'" Holderfield said. "So the surveyor came out and said, 'She just threw me out!'"
For residents like Groman, visits from the animals are priceless.
"It lifts them up," she said. "If a person's down and they come in, then they are a different person when the dogs leave. You can see it. . It'll lift them up."
Dogs have a way of connecting with people on an emotional level, Groman said.
"It's a love that they have for people that they'll bring out in people," Groman said. "When you're around a person that likes you and loves you, you see it. Same way with a dog."
Herring agreed.
"You take a good loyal dog, and they'll die for you. And I know Misty would die for me if I were ever attacked or hurt," Herring said.
Herring acquired Misty about two years ago when a friend fell on hard times. Herring said her friend told her Misty is a half-and-half mix between a wolf and a malamute. However, Misty is most likely several generations removed from her wolf ancestors, if she has any wolf in her at all, said Nancy Brown, who has worked with wolfdogs for more than 20 years and is the founder of Full Moon Farm, a nonprofit rescue and sanctuary for wolfdogs and other animals in North Carolina.
Brown made that comment after seeing photos of Misty.
No matter the breed, Misty's effect on the residents can be judged by the smiling faces she invoked.
"If Misty and I can come up here and bring these people good memories and a little joy and a smile, that's the best thing we can do," Herring said.
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Information from: Southwest Times Record, http://www.swtimes.com/
Source: http://www.sfexaminer.com/news/health/2012/01/therapy-pets-popular-ark-health-care-center
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