Hospital Volunteer

So as of today I am officially a Community Hospital volunteer. It was rather interesting how it all got started. A few months ago I went to a career fair at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Missoula. Before the fair, I went to the mt.gov site to research all of the different places that were going to be there. I found nothing of interest as far as paid positions go, however, something (I am convinced it was a God thing) made me click on Community Hospital. Low and behold, the one thing I find there is for pet therapy. "Why, we can do that!"
While at the career fair, I came across the Community Hospital booth and spoke with a representative. "Why, we'd love to have You!" was the response I got. I was given a business card of the woman I was to cantact, the head of volunteer services.
To bring Alehe to the hospital and be just in the day room would have been no problem. But I thought it would be more special for the patients if we visited them in their rooms. To do that I would have to go through certification training for therapy dogs - liability reasons.
I was tired of sitting around and not finding things to do NOW, I just wanted something to happen. The training wasnt for another month or so. Between CCI, CMC and the therapy dog place, figured out that we are covered undedr CCI's liability insurance. Everything was a go.
I showed up at Community Medical Center at eleven a.m. to "shadow" or go along with another therapy dog team to see what it's all about. Visited Rehab patients for about an hour. One older gentleman reminded me of sitting with my grandpa as a kid listening to his stories of his younger days. As I sat there and listened, a voice in my head was telling me what good I was doign just sitting and litening to them talk.
At times. Alehe would just sit and wtch the other dog while he interacted with teh patients while sitting in their beds or a wheelchair. She didn't seem too sure of herself, but then again this was a new experience for her. I really tried to encourage/coax her to interact with the patients. The woman I was with told me that as she watches the other dog, and the more she does this, the easier it will become for her. Meanwhile I was to keep encouraging her, praising her. A good learning experience for the both of us.
I was issued an ID badge with my picture, my name, and Community Medical Center - just like the ones that the doctors and nurses wear. I feel so important! I don't think I took that thing off all day. Even until I went to bed last night! LOL!!!

Boy was I exhausted!

Beau Garcon (6/1994 - 3/13/2007)

Merriman's Beau Garcon (aka, beau), French for "handsome boy". A handsome boy he was. For a silver Toy Poodle though he was around 15 pounds, but 15 pounds of good solid muscle.

He came home from a backyard breeder with mom and I, riding in my lap on the way to his new home with us at just a few weeks of age. Shortly thereafter, we moved to Montana where he rode almost the entire way in either mom's lap or mine. From then on whenever he went for a car ride, his spot was on someones lap in the front seat. Silly dog would sometimes rest his head on the steering wheel. At one time it still had the knob from when I learned to drive and as mom turned the wheel...BONK! He was hit in the head with the knob. Yet he kept resting his head there, you think he'd learn!

Beau grew up around big dogs. Dad had a rottweiler, and I had a servicedog that was a lab. He loved to run with the big dogs. WAe think he considered himsel;f to ber one o fthem. We said that Beau suffered from "Big Dog " syndrome. He'd go chasing the horses, or barking at the cattle. He would get under their feet and get hurt, but that hardly deterred him from coming back for more. He'd chaseand bark at other dogs and people too. He sounded vicious, but we all knew otherwise.

One day mom and I decided to see if the dogs could swim. We had a small pond for irrigation purposes, and were worried what would happen to the poodles if they fell in. Mom hadn't even had Brandi in teh water yet before she started moving her legs in a swimming motion. She plopped beau in and, poor dog, he went belly up and she had to save him.
Although we often bathed our dogs at home, Beau (and later Tina,who died as a result of we think trouble giving birth. We came home from church to her having a seizure) and Brandi would spend a few hours at a groomers, getting a bath and his hair cut. One day my dad thought it would be funny by telling the groomer to give Beau a flat-top. He brought them home that day...let's just say mom was not at all amused.

We got Tina, an apricot Toy Poodle, because we had the idea of wanting to breed. Then Tina died from her seizure. Along comes Brandi (short for Merriman's Apricot Brandy). She was able to have one litter of pups, one apricot such as herself and two silvers. My aunt has the apricot and we sold the others. We decided not to do it again as mom had to help Brandi with the birthing of her pups.
You're probably wondering how we ever ended up with Toy Poodles anyway. Years ago I had started the process of getting my first servicedog. The waiting list at that time was supposed to be eighteen months, and turned into three years. One year i was in a bodycast from waist down after hip surgery. Mom and dad thought it a good idea to get a small dog that could sit with me during the 6 weeks or so it took to recouperate since I didn't have the CCI dog yet.

This dog's name was Sammy. Sammy came at Christmastime. We already knew that I would go in for surgery soon. When I finally ame home , in a bodycast from waist down, Sammy was right beside me. Whether on my back or propped onto my side, he would lay beside me. That made me nervous when on my side. If my pillows shifted, I was afraid I'd squish him. Did he think he was doing me a favor by propping me up? Two years later, our horses got out of their pen when mom and dad were on vacation. My grandma and I were home just the two of us. Sammy got out somehow and tried to herd them back to their pens. My dad's horse doesn't like dogs. Sammy was kicked in the head by dad's horse and died a short time later. Mom and dad came home from their vacation early.
Beau died in the afternoon on Tuesday the 13th of March. Mom waited to tell me until Friday afternoon, as she didnt want to spoil my first week of working at Fort Courage. He came into the bathrooom where she was and whined a bit, before laying down. Two hours later, he was gone.
He is now buried on mom and dad's porperty, next to where they buried Glenda when she had to be put down. Weird thing is, I didn't cry much. I guess it's harder when you put a dog to sleep as to when he/she dies on their own. I miss him already. I was looking forward to the next time I go home, seeing him and the way he wouild jump into my lap the first tiem he waw me home to visit. My poor legs.
I hear a lot of peole talk abnotu animals and seeing them again in Heaven. Then I get to think of the many animals I will have had come the time for my life here on Earth to be done. Wouldn't the number of animals outnumber the people? Another ponderable I guess.