Greyhounds & Grey Hairs

Greyhounds add fun to lots of activities.  I have walked in the woods with my greyhounds, taken them camping, run in dog jogs with them, and marched in parades with them.  The most fulfilling thing that I have done with my greyhounds, however, is pet therapy.  Once a month I take them to our local nursing home, The Retreat.  I affectionately call our outings Greyhounds & Grey Hairs.

Pet therapy in general is a wonderful thing; I have seen firsthand that residents who otherwise are not very engaged can come to life when they see a four-legged visitor.  Greyhounds in particular can be great pet therapy dogs.  First, their calm demeanor makes them well suited to be around elderly or sick people.  Also, someone in a hospital bed or wheelchair can more easily pet such a tall dog.

I was a little nervous when I first started Greyhounds & Grey Hairs.  I was going to visit people I didn’t know, and I wasn’t sure exactly what to say or do.  My fears soon disappeared.  A number of residents have had dogs earlier in their lives, and so they love getting to see any kind of dog now.  Also, because many people have never seen a greyhound before, that can be a great conversation starter.  It got easier and easier as the greyhounds and I started visiting with a lot of the same people each time.  It’s gotten to the point with many residents that they briefly say hello to the hounds, and then we launch into a conversation about what all has been going on with each other since our last visit.  It’s funny how the human-hound connection has fostered some pretty special human-human connections, too.

Over the years I have jotted down stories of some of my Greyhounds & Grey Hairs encounters.  During the next week I’ll share some of them.  Here’s one from the early days of Greyhounds & Grey Hairs:

Trooper was my first pet therapy dog as well as my first greyhound.  One day we entered the common room at The Retreat.  As usual, a number of residents were gathered, and Trooper and I started walking around.  We approached a man who had a rather mischievous grin.  He teased, “Is that a drug dog?”  Without missing a beat, I smiled and replied, “Why?  Are you worried?”