Chelsie's Good Deeds

Last night was our visiting night...we were able to be a little more flexible and stay as long as necessary, as we are in between sessions of agility class.

Our visit last night was an extended one - nearly 2 hrs. It was one of those nights where there were actually about 5 completely empty rooms, but it took us nearly 2 hrs to get down the hall. Lots of people wanted to see her, she was behaving appropriately and we had nowhere else to go (except to our nice COOL house) so we stayed.

The biggest change I have noticed in Chelsie's visiting is that she is much more content in laying quietly while I visit with the patients after they have pet her. Usu sally, she is pretty agreeable to her "chair" command for awhile, but then she sometimes gets antsy and wants down. I have noted that when she wants down, she has become much more obedient in her "Lay and Stay" command, often resting her head on her paws. I put her where the patients can see her, which for them, seems to be as good as being able to pet her. They often ask questions like how long have we been doing this, do we go anywhere else, what did we have to do to get certified, etc. They often comment about what "a good dog" she is...and I really can't disagree! A story they always get a laugh out of are her "trash tales" and "sink surfing". My little girl likes trash - she likes to take it all over the house. I have also come home on more than one occasion to silver ware in the middle of the living room floor. We have addressed these issues by having a heavy stainless steel trash can and not leaving ANY dishes in the sink.

Last night, one of Chelsie's favorite nurses, nurse Marilyn, started talking about Mr. Koslow - or "Kos" as they called him. I wrote about him what seems like many moons ago. Recall Kos had terminal cancer - he was in Dodd recovering from a stroke. He had throat cancer and could not talk, and the only way he communicated was through writing. Thankfully, the stroke impacted the left side of his body and did not take away his ability to communicate. He loved Chelsie and Chelsie loved him - she would sit and let him pet her for as long as he wanted. Marilyn told me last night that Chelsie made a difference in Kos's life. I am sure he has passed at this point, and talking about it last night made me tear up.

Today is another kind of crappy day here...I was going to take the morning off (my boss gives us the afternoon before every holiday off) but being as it is crappy, I will probably just do some leisurely work on my couch. Next week is NUTS - I noted that this morning as I looked at my calendar. But we are not thinking about that - instead, we are thinking that tomorrow is going to be lovely while wakeboarding on the Scioto River! Will probably do that Saturday as well, and then a softball tourney on Sunday in Dayton.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th!

Nicole & The Chelsonator