Tails of Compassion
A letter from the men at craggy Correctional Center:
"I just wanted to express how appreciative we all are that you would take time and come into the facility with the dogs. You all were the talk of the town for several days afterwords.
In here we all are on emotional guard duty. Please realize that we in here have no outlet to express any emotions. Especially an outlet to show genuine love and affection plus to have that same genuine love and affection reciprocated. It made us all feel human and normal if only for a little while.
You wouldn't believe the response we have had to the dogs. I witnessed hardened criminals who rarely speak to anyone come to the event with the dogs waiting for one of the dogs to come his way. Particularly the Basset Hound, I heard him speaking quite fondly of a Basset he has as a child growing up in Cullowhee, NC.
Any many such examples were these here at Craggy for the next couple of days. Inmates became more sociable toward one another and toward staff. I even heard a staff member remark on how different the inmates were that came to the event.
Paws with a Purpose really did serve a noble and good purpose Thursday: they boosted the morale, lowered the stress levels, and made all who attended the event a much needed outlet to show our humanity.
Again we all want to thank you for your time and consideration. We all pray for you that the Lord will bless you, your people, and all your efforts for good.
Sincerely (woof-woof and ruff-ruff),
Personally signed by over 150 inmates
A pet away from home
Families staying at The Rathbun Center are from out of town and have a loved one in the hospital or are receiving outpatient treatment. The weekly Paws with a Purpose visit gives guests a chance to reconnect with "a pet", to share their own stories, to comfort and be comforted. It contributes to our "home away from home" mission. Thank you, Paws with a Purpose!
hesitant communication
It was a slow slog when Strider and I first got there. One woman whose son had a serious stroke was anticipating seeing the dog and had rushed back just to be there for the visit. They were most appreciative of the pictures (from the PAWS camera) that were taken of them with Strider. A family of three (the autistic son is being treated in an area facility) stuck around for quite a while. The little boy was at first hesitant, but with encouragement continued to toss the ball to Strider. I encouraged him to tell Strider to "drop" the ball, and after a bit, he started to say a word something close to "drop" (which pleased the Mom to no end because he rarely talks (words hold little meaning for him and are mostly sung to him to aid in bringing meaning. Fortunately, I was close enough to Strider to quietly repeat the command, so that the little boy thought Strider was dropping the ball at his command!!) Before the end of the evening, about 5 more came over to talk, pet Strider, throw the ball, and give him the commands to stay, sit, down, wait, etc.
Diana Campbell and her Belgian Teruvern, Strider
visiting the Rathbun Wellness Center
RESIDENTS LOOK FORWARD TO SATURDAY MORNINGS
Every Saturday morning the Paws With a Purpose Team comes to visit our residents at Deerfield Episcopal. Pet Therapy is so important to ensuring a good quality of life for our residents that are no longer able to care for pets on their own. Our skilled nursing residents look forward to the Saturday morning group visits and our assisted living residents enjoy the individualized visits. Most of us can’t imagine a life without pets and our residents are no different. We are so thankful for the Paws organization and the precious gift they provide the Deerfield residents.
Julie Cooley
Deerfield Episcopal Retirement Community
Director of Health Care Activities and Volunteer Coordinator
