Bo Peep Posted January 20, 2008 Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 I was at my little park 2 doors down this morning giving Usher and Bailey their daily exercise and a man that lived down the street across from the park approached me. He was in his mid to late 70's. I thought "Oh no- he's going to complain about the dogs taking over the park or maybe not staying on the leash to catch and play. Well, he said to me "My wife and I live across the street and watch you with the dogs everyday and I just wanted to tell you how much we enjoy watching you play with them and how much pleasure it has brought into our lives." WOW!!! I didn't know what to say!I said Well, thank you, I didn't think anyone noticed or maybe you were here to complain. And he smiled and said "It really makes our day, we sit in the nook in the kitchen and watch. That's why we bought this house because of it's location to the park." Sometimes the things we do with our dogs also gives other people pleasure. I'm glad he came up and told me. What a sweet man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.L. Posted January 20, 2008 Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 That is so sweet! It seems like old people are either super cranky or super wonderful! I let my dogs run off leash in our grassy common area, and there is a little old lady, probably also in her 70's, who lives alone. She has told me that she loves to sit in the window and watch my dogs play fetch and frisbee. She said it brings her joy to see the dogs acting so silly and happy and having so much fun. One day I was outside but I was up further by my house and she came out and asked me if I could move down towards her house so she could watch the dogs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShoresDog Posted January 20, 2008 Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 That is so nice! People I see often seem to enjoy watching Daisy catch frisbees, so sometimes I'll toss it over to the person so they can do some throws too. There are some people who don't like or are afraid of dogs, and I usually have Daisy lie down while they jog by. Some of them even wave and say hi now. They probably appreciate not having a running dog trip-up risk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth G Posted January 20, 2008 Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 Yeah some of my neighbors are like that too. It's always a joy to share my dogs with them. I'm glad to see others enjoy them as much as we do!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diane allen Posted January 20, 2008 Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 I have one neighbor who really hates dogs (which is a little scary, but mostly, he's just a grouch...) - but when HIS father came to visit ( had to be in his 80s at least), he brought a lawn chair out to watch us practice agility! He was smilin' the whole time. Too bad his genetics didn't work on the son.... diane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbc1963 Posted January 20, 2008 Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 That's really nice! I think there are as many people who are happy to see our dogs as unhappy - we only hear from the last group! I like to use Buddy as an ambassador - make him come to me and do a sit/watch when we pass other people on trails at the park. I figure it helps people who hate dogs not think so badly of all of us if they see a well-trained dog. And if a small child shows an interest in Buddy, he'll do a down/stay right at their feet so they can give him treats, and that makes the mothers and fathers just gush! Everyone loves someone to be nice to their kids! Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyler Posted January 20, 2008 Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 That is simply wonderful. I LOVE sweet old people. You know its sad that they tend to be put off many times in our society. But they have been through it all and offer some of the most wonderful stories and insight into life. I really bet they would love some pooch shaped cookies delivered by you and your pup. That might make their day all the more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted January 20, 2008 Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 Not really dog-related, or only peripherally, but my former neighbor had an older couple who lived across the street and they just loved the lambs. The husband, who is in his 80s and has Alzheimer's, still mows their hard with a motorized push mower. Anyway, the property used to be a pony farm and so there was a lot of mowing to be done by poor Ed. The fence was still in good shape, so they finally asked if we could put some sheep there. We weaned our lambs over there and it was so fun to see the pleasure it brought to Ed and Ann, but especially Ed, who would go visit with the lambs over the fence, take them honeysuckle to eat, and so on. Sometimes it's just so easy to give older folks some pleasure, and I wish more folks would do just that! To keep this dog related, they asked me one time when they had a family gathering for someone's birthday to come over and do a herding demo with my dogs. It was really fun, and Ann and Ed were just beaming over "their" sheep and how they could explain to their extended family about working sheep with dogs.... J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted January 20, 2008 Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 We have terrific neighbors around here (well, except for one really grouchy old so-and-so). They all have welcomed us walking, biking, riding, with dogs, etc. One gentleman in particular stands out. In years past, he raised great Quarter Horses. He loved his horses well past the age at which he could care for them. I asked permission once to ride in his fields "after the hay was cut" and he replied, "Honey, you can ride your horse anywhere on this farm, anytime"! He would come out in his chair (or later, with his walker) and sit and watch as Blaze and I (and later, Molly and I) or my daughter and her horse would ride through the fields. I made a point of doing some galloping and trotting along the fenceline where he could get his fill of enjoying watching Molly move. He always made me feel like I was doing him a favor to ride there, and maybe I was. I miss him. He passed on last year, followed six months later by his lovely wife of many, many years. Let's not take good neighbors for granted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bo Peep Posted January 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2008 My mother suggested I ask him if he wanted to play with the dogs himself. Good idea. Maybe he just likes watching. Now if I slip up and don't exercise twice a day, I feel I have left BOTH the dogs down AND the neighbor- LOL. I remember my old neighbor asking me what time I was going to work my sheep and she would watch outside her bedroom window. She had no clue when I messed up- good for me- LOL. It's nice we have some "non-grouchy" neighbors for once to talk about. Usually it's the other way around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle K Posted January 21, 2008 Report Share Posted January 21, 2008 These stories are what I love hearing. It definitely warms the heart. That was why I got involved in pet therapy. It's just amazing to see the elderly light up when we bring the dogs in. Of course, everyone calls Dreamer "Lassie", but it's fun to see how much they love them and how much the dogs brighten their days. Most everyone loves them, but every now and then we'll run into the grouchy person that hates them. I'll never forget the lady that greeted me with a snarled nose and a, "why are you bringing that filthy animal in here? Get it out." She was an older lady, probably in her 70s, and she was sitting in the lobby of a nursing home. Of course, there were about 5 other people wanting me to bring Dreamer over to them so they could pet him. I have never had anyone call him "filthy" before, so it shocked me, but I just let it roll off of my shoulders and took him to see the others. I'd like to get Nykie going. I started her in it, but then stopped for awhile due to her excitable/submissive peeing. Now that she's outgrown it, I'll probably start taking her some again. I wish we had a park close within walking distance of our house, but the closest one is about a 20 minute drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OurBoys Posted January 21, 2008 Report Share Posted January 21, 2008 Thank you, everyone, for sharing. I love feel-good stories! To improve his socialization skills, we use to take JJ to Lowes Home Improvement or Home Depot. For the most part, customers and sales associates alike would come up to us to pet and/or hug on JJ. Only once did I run across a snot. I was standing there with JJ in the 'heel' position while people walked by (teaching him to ignore). One lady walked by and in a testy tone said "Let me guess, he's in training." Without missing a beat I looked at her and said "Yes, he is! He's in training to be a speech therapy dog!" (At the time, I was thinking about training him for that so it wasn't a deliberate lie.) She never looked at me or said another word. She just kept walking. But the number of people who would walk up and start talking to us about their dog was amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iluvlucy Posted January 21, 2008 Report Share Posted January 21, 2008 my question---------------------how can anyone not love a dog??????????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kate40541 Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 I used to take a couple of our dogs to a Medicare nursing home to visit because they were ignored by most of the people who do that kind of visiting. Many of the residents there were from "up north" and had grown up on farms so they always called the dogs 'farm collies' or sometimes 'black collies' and talked about their own dogs they missed so much. There were a few people who never talked to anyone but the dogs. My friend and I went for years until we'd been there longer than anyone who worked there. It wasn't all sentimental though, the dogs loved it because the time we went was right after snack break and they cleaned up in more ways than one. Suzanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
setsail Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 I always get the "lassie" thing with Jackson and it seems to make people approach him easier. Jackson loves elderly people for some reason. We had an elderly neighbor next door and she would come out and sit with him quite a bit. There was another elderly woman that didn't like anyone or anything, but she loved Jackson. I had him at a pet day and a local nursing home brought their residents as a field trip. Because of mud they were set up pretty far away from the action so I walked Jackson over and asked if they could help me train him. They were so happy to have something to do and help with. He went from chair to chair and laid his head on their knees until they petted him. One woman was completely bundled in blankets up to her neck. Jackson laid his head on her knee and rubbed his face a little bit on the blanket, over where her hand was under the blanket. She didn't say one word all day, but she did smile and close her eyes when he petted her. There was another woman in the group from Scotland. She went on and on about how this was a "scottish collie" like she had when see was a girl. She told me that he looked a lot of like the farm collies in her area when she was growing up in 1930-1940 Scotland. That rough coat/border mix of features. She was bragging about how "her collie" was such a sweet creature and I heard her telling everyone that asked about "her collie". She as so awesome. I let Jackson do a few tricks, some frisbee catches for them and they cheered for him. I'm just happy that I took the opportunity to take him over there and talk to everyone. I hope I made them as happy as they made me I even took Jackson to a concert downtown and the only seat left was in the front row, right by the speaker. He was a doll the entire time. Except he tried to sing along once lol. I had one of the band members come off stage between sets and tell me that the band was amazed at how calm and beautiful he was, even when a few midshipman started swing dancing right in front of him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet808 Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 Aaaahhh! That was sweet! I know, I'll be out in our front yard, throwing the frisbee to Misty and the people driving by, slow down to watch! I don't know what it is exactly, but they seem to enjoy seeing this beautiful black and white dog, run, jump and play! Plus she's pretty darn good at catching the frisbees too! If I do say so myself! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalesred Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 What a touching thread. I just love the thought that there is opportunity for 'informal therapy' as well as the more formal kind. Dogs and BC s especially are so empathic - it's rather like we are facilitating them to do the therapy work they sense is needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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