The security guard is the regular man who always welcomes us with a happy face, the floors are polished to a high shine, the faces of nurses and staff are friendly and there is the sound of distant Salsa music. The elevators are slow...... no, very slow as employees are leaving for the day, a sense that a loneliness is setting in as the most active part of the hospital day is over. There is a vacancy and isolation that is apparent in spite of all the attempts of doctors, nurses, social workers, physical therapists, occupational therapists, volunteers and visitors to fill the void of people institutionalized.         And then comes Lille.         She skips down the hall with a "bunny" in her mouth, a well worn favorite toy in desperate need of surgery and stuffing. Her tail is high as if she knows she is sought and needed and indeed she is. It's hard to get past the employees outside having a smoke. She doesn't want to stop there. She wants to go straight to the volunteers office to say her hellos to Sheila Johnston, the volunteers coordinator, Sister Joan and other members of the ministries. They all have a friendly competition about whose office she goes into first. The sigh of disappointment when Lille has chosen someone else. She just wants to sign in and get to work. She is an actress and a ham. You never know who she really loves best. She is working for the staff as much as for the residents to combat fatigue and burnout.
Then to work to make her rounds to give what she gives so freely, a nuzzle, a lean, her little head on a lap in need of physical contact, any attention at all that is a remembrance of the loves, lives, health, youth and family once had.         Lille is a therapy dog who visits Terrance Cardinal Cook Health Care Center and has been doing so for 5 years. She has regular patients who she visits and expect her on Tuesday afternoons. She does no tricks, or at least not obvious to our eyes. What she does is magic, however... I know she is my dog, she does it for me.	photo by James Salzano
I have had dogs all of my life. I am a cancer survivor. I am an RN and a dog trainer. I am a pet partner. I have had burnout and have experienced the fear and depression of my body betraying me. I also have experienced and continue to experience the joy and regenerative powers of living with an animal. Lille and I are certified by Delta Society to visit institutions who request the participation of the visiting Pet Partners program. We have merged all of our life experiences and talents (and I mean we) to do good work.         Every year more than 350,000 seriously ill children and elderly are visited by Delta Society Pet Partners. Over 2,500 pet partner teams operate in 45 states and four other countries to visit nursing homes, special schools, physical therapy departments and hospitals.        This piece was originally written for the American Cancer Society's "DOGS WALK 99 Against Cancer" journal. The event takes place in New York City on April 2 1999. For any information on participation, advertising, or sponsorship call 212-237-3872.        Elaine Buchsbaum lives and works in Manhattan with her two therapy dogs Lille and Mario and is owner of Red Dog Training Inc. Anyone interested in obtaining information on becoming a team partner can contact her at 212-534-1290 or ReDogNYC@aol.com.