As typical with many Senior Widows, my Momma struggled to find a routine / schedule living without Daddy after he passed.
During Momma’s struggle to find her new norm, I had a temporary duty (TDY) from Fort Knox, KY to Fort Leavenworth, KS. I asked Momma to care for my rescue, Captain Domino, a fluffy black and white mix of lots of breeds. Actually, I drove to Enterprise, AL from Radcliff, KY with Captain Dominio and simply left him with Momma after a long conversation.
Momma was far from thrilled. She knew, however after having duggar doggies over a lifetime, that three plus weeks of boarding would be hard on my young duggar-doggie as well as expensive.
The following happened over those three weeks:
Momma had to wake up, get up, and let Captain Dominio outside.
Captain Dominio expected to be fed twice daily. Momma fed him and slowly started constructing her own healthier meals beyond a coffee and sausage biscuit.
Momma had living companionship. Sure, she had a support group and friends. However, Captain Dominio was always with her providing a living being she could touch and one who would respond to her.
Captain Dominio became extremely protective. No one came close to the front door or Momma’s van without hearing Captain Dominio’s protective bark. He remained devoted to Momma until she passed almost a decade later.
At Essential Living Strategies (ELS), our coaching includes more and more families with elderly members, family members with some form of dementia, and families in conflict with elders who want their continued independence against others’ wants.
At ELS, we often suggest that the Senior Family Member rescue a dog. Unfortunately, that is somewhat met with resistance and concern about what happens to the duggar-doggie if the relationship does not work.
Contact us. We have four trained canines to meet most every need. These are short term companion canines that allow families the opportunity to experience this type of relationship working with their Senior Family Member. We and our canines work with your family member and you to see if this relationship can give the Senior Family Member continued independence and the family peace.
These canines live by a schedule and, with our help, can keep your family member on schedule with tasks / responsibilities, daily physical movements, and companionship. ELS has one canine devoted to physical daily walking for anyone requiring strength building and exercise.
Before you ask, no … we have no trained cats, birds, pork-belly pigs, … .