Happy Monday everyone!  Well, actually, it’s almost Tuesday, so happy Tuesday as well.  Perhaps you should start your day with this image: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2009/08/_nuts_is_now_a.html Amazing, isn’t it?  It’s sure to make you smile, no matter how busy your day.  Maybe another good way to start the day is to listen to this song.  I heard it on the Dawn commercial (when they’re washing oil off of some adorable marine life, and I love it!!  My new favorite.  :)  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTdCzIduUb4 Can you listen to it just once? 

Let’s just keep this an animal-themed post, how about that?  “Bark for Life” went really well.  Luckily, the rain didn’t start pouring down until much later in the afternoon.  The turnout was not what the website said (almost 300), but I really enjoyed it.  There were maybe 20 people there, and everyone seemed to be having fun including, of course, all the canines!  It was the first “Bark for Life” event in Fairfax County, but they plan on having another one in the spring of next year.  I hope talk about the event spreads because it’s so nice to participate in a fundraising event with your dogs.  It adds a different level of fun.  They mentioned that they might like me to speak next year as well, so plan on coming out, whether or not you have a four-legged friend…as long as you like four-legged friends, of course.  It really is a great event.  There was a priest there who blessed all the animals.  The Vienna/Oakton “Connection” was also there. One of their writers interviewed me and took a picture of Guinness, Jameson and I standing in a baby pool.   I’ll let you know if it ends up being published.  Oh, and I almost forgot!  Jameson and Guinness both took the K9 Good Citizenship Test and they “passed with suggestions”….hahahahaha

Anyhoo, I figured rather than blab on and on, I’d simply post the speech I gave on Saturday.  Stay tuned for the video version.

Lots of love,

Julie

“Bark for Life” speech, August 22, 2009

One Newfoundland.  Three Border Collies and one Australian Shepherd mix.  Five dogs who made/make my life more joyful.  Thunder, Sherlock, Agatha, Jameson and Guinness.  They inspired me to write a college psychology paper about the importance of animal companionship.  Their absence in my college days prompted me to volunteer at the local SPCA, as well as a local farm.  The farm owners started an organization that brought troubled teenagers out to learn how to care for the animals.  It was a form of therapy for them.  I volunteered to help with the teens, and each time I would pull into the drive, I was greeted by at least ten dogs, a goat and sometimes bunnies.  It was most definitely a therapy for me as well.  Many years later, back at home and enjoying our two newest family members, Jameson and Guinness, I was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia.  Doctors informed me I would be admitted to the hospital for at least one month.  Eric, a nurse and representative from Life with Cancer, visited that night and asked if there was anything I needed.  A dog, I thought, I need a dog!  Through research for my paper and my general interest in animals, I knew about the pet therapy programs.  I requested dog visits, and Eric quickly secured a “pet therapy” prescription from my physician.

I looked forward to those visits each day.  Sometimes the dogs would lie in bed with me while I rubbed their bellies, and other times they walked with me in the halls as I did my daily laps.  I remember Leslie, the pet therapy coordinator at Fairfax Hospital, and her beautiful yellow lab, Miles.  Then there was Astro, an adorable black-lab mix.  There were many others who made each day brighter for me.  One day, they brought a dog in, and I sat up in bed to greet it.  When I looked over, I saw that it was Guinness!  My family had worked with Leslie to bring in one of my own dogs, and it was a wonderful surprise.  Even on days when there was a “no visitors” sign on my door because of my low blood counts, I would walk out to the nurse’s station with my IV pole and tell them “Just because it says ‘no visitors’ doesn’t mean I can’t have dogs.”  They would smile and say, “OK, Julie.”

I think dogs make perfect caregivers.  They have a calm and quiet nature, and they seem to know when you’re not feeling well.  I recall one night when I was giving myself chemo at home, and I was resting on the couch.  Jameson walked over and laid his head on my neck for several seconds.  It felt so reassuring, as if he were saying “It’s OK, Julie.  Everything will be all right”.  They are also good motivators for exercise.  You have to get up and play with them and go on walks, which was good for me as well as them.

I was home with them a little over three years before I began working part-time.  However, three months after I started working, I relapsed.  So, here we go again.  I was in the hospital for another month, and I immediately requested pet therapy.  Again, they came to my room almost every day, and they were a very important part of my treatment.  We decided to have my bone marrow transplant out in Seattle, and my mom and I made it our goal to meet as many Seattle dogs as we could.  If you’ve ever been there, you know it’s quite a dog-friendly city, so we didn’t have a difficult time.  Everywhere we went, there were dogs to pat, and this was very helpful while going through the transplant.  Four and a half months later, we came home, and we received the best greeting you can imagine.  It was nothing short of wild enthusiasm.

Here we are now, and I am doing well.  Last week, I had the best blood counts I’ve ever had!!  When we go on our nightly walks, I look around us and smile.  I close my eyes and smell the air.  I listen to the crickets and the katydids.  And all along, I walk to the rhythmic beat of paws on pavement and the soft sound of panting.  I look down and watch Jameson and Guinness sniff the grass and the bushes, and I am grateful!  Guinness walks bow-legged, his fluffy tail high in the air.  Jameson walks like a debonair dog, no muscle or paw out of line.  They remind me of my grandfathers, one refined in dress and behavior, the other decked in plaid and stripes, speaking in colorful language.  They are so much more than my pets.  They are my guardian angels, my closest friends, my healers.  To them, I say “thank you”.  For their love, their company and their gentle reminders to appreciate each day, whatever it may bring.  And the healing continues!