Sea Glass Making A Difference                          About Us This adventure of  an old woman and a 120-pound Giant Schnoodle begins...     To read more Click Welcome When we visit the hospital I always sign in at the Inpatient Rehab Unit before going first to the Reflections Unit. Today a therapist stops me outside the IRU exercise room. "Could you come in here right now?" she asks with a slight sense of urgency. "Sure," I reply, leading Reggie into the almost deserted gym. The woman sits in a wheelchair surrounded by gadgets designed to strengthen depleted muscles. The therapist steps aside as Reggie and I approach. The woman, younger than most in IRU, looks dejected and sad.             "Hi. Reggie wants to say hello," I announce and without asking permission, I lead Reggie right up to her. She smiles hesitantly and reaches out to touch him. Reggie moves in close. She holds out her arms and he comes closer still, his face almost touching hers. She wraps her arms around him, leans her face against his and just stays there for a long moment. As he eases back she continues to stroke him, tugging gently at his ears, reaching behind them to scratch the itchy spot. He "grins" happily, ready to settle down and stay a while. I ask Reggie to wave, "We will be back by later, " I say as we leave for Reflections. When we return to IRU, the woman is back in her room. The therapist rushes up to us. She kneels down and ruffs Reggie hair, "You earned your ‘pay’ today, " she says. Then she explains. The young woman had become very discouraged and with this depression came the lack of will to cooperate with the therapist on the strengthening exercises she needed. She seemed to have given up. She was in tears when the therapist saw Reggie and asked us to come in. When Reggie left there was a smile on the woman’s face. She worked patiently with the therapist and even walked with assistance back to her room. Before I leave the area the supervising nurse comes to me and adds her words of tribute for the Reggie’s influence on that patient’s attitude and, hopefully, recovery. Sea glass in the sand!   (For more inspirational moments in the life of a therapy dog, Click Sea Glass.)   (Back to top)