My father, Jesus, loves animals; he has as long as I can remember. A few months ago I bought him a couple of lovebirds; we named them Jesus and Blanca (in honor of my Pop and my late mother). In addition, we have two dogs,a chihuahua mix named: Canelo and a Schnauzer named Rusky.
Canelo is nine years old; which makes him a senior citizen in dog years. While Rusky is barely past three; which makes him an energetic teenager (in dog years).
Watching my father with his menagerie of pets makes me a firm believer in the therapeutic benefits of owning pets. Dad enjoys talking to his animals. And, I could swear that they understand him. He whistles alongside the birds during the afternoon hours. I even think that the birds look forward to their whistling sessions as they tend to follow his movements along their cage. It is quite a whimsical site.
The dogs are another matter. You see, the two dogs do NOT get along. Since we cannot get rid of neither canine (Canelo was my Mom's dog who was at her side at the San Diego Hospice when she passed away) and Rusky is just too darn adorable and attached to Pop; well giving either one away is just out of the question. The solution has been to segregate them from one another. Rusky owns the fenced in backyard; while Canelo resides in the also fenced-in front yard. They are, therefore, equal but separate (literally).
Meanwhile the birds reside in our very fancy garage (it has flooring, cabinets, even a pianola - quite nice); yet, if it is sunny, the cage hangs just outside by the garage door. My father likes to read the paper sitting in that area to hear the lovebirds sing; which they do enthusiastically on a daily basis.
Canelo, the Senior, is extremely mellow and is quite content to sleep as much as possible; taking a break now and again to eat and to rub against my pop's legs (I think that he thinks that he is a cat).
On the other hand, Rusky, the teenager, is tireless and obsessed with fetching his tennis ball to the point that I have to take it away from him to give us a rest. Rusky loves to play golf-fetch; where the ball is hit by a golf club, chased down by him and then he returns it exactly to the point where the ball was hit from.
My father loves all of these animal interactions; and he enjoys relating these stories to visitors and strangers alike. Truly, truly I feel that it helps him use his cognitive abilities in a better manner than he would if we didn't have the dogs and the birds.
In addition, my friends own the Happy Trails Horse Ranch near Border Beach. It is a five acre spread with more than fifty horses that are available for rentals. My Pop and I try to get there at least once a week. He enjoys feeding the horses carrots and such.
Bottom line: I truly believe that beyond medications and physical therapy; animals release a sort of invisible energy that Alzheimer's patients absorb in a very positive manner. I can literally see it in my father's eyes. He enjoys it; so I enjoy it.
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hi ric,
i was thrilled to see your story on public tv last night. i was spiritually moved by your grace and unselfishness in caring for your pop. it came right at a time that i was feeling really sorry for myself for not having better parents (they aren't that bad). the comment you made about having to "parent" your father brought up a great deal of emotion, and made me grateful for what my parents have given me. i truly hope i have what it takes if i should end up needing to parent them.
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