Glancing up from the computer printout, Shelley initiated her personal sure-fire cure for her malaise. This remedy had proven to be effective time and time again. Relief was immediate and certain. Because she knew it would be difficult for her co-workers to believe her, Shelley always kept this panacea her own little secret. "Here, we go," she thought to herself and slowly raised her head.
Shelley concentrated her gaze on the assortment of framed picture surrounding her. The quizzically alert, individual expressions of various Siberian Huskies regarded her from within the confines of each image.
There was a black-and-white photo of her "Misha-impossible" joyously sailing over a high jump and another of Bobby and Bucky looking like innocent little angels even though they were mischievous 8 week old fluffy pups. Next to that picture was a recent Christmas one - a litter of new arrivals posed inside an unwrapped package, sitting beside an 8 x 10 of the Siberian family matriarch, Lee.
Shelley inadvertently breathed deeply and smiled at the memories evoked by each photograph. She lost herself in the portraits and could easily recall the sensations she experienced around each Siberian loved one. She could reach out and touch Misha's glossy black coat. She could laughingly watch as Bobby and Bucky leaped off the edge of the photographer's table to play catch -me-if-you-can. Reminiscing about this past Christmas, she could smell the new puppies milk breath and hear their puppy grunts. She could feel Lee's warmth as she snuggled up beside her. Gradually, the headache which was once so insistent slowly subsided. The Siberians had worked their magic one again.
At breaktime, Shelley strolled out to the vending machines where an illustration on the front page of the newspaper caught her interest. A black-and-white, prick-eared, blue-eyed dog peered out at her. Curious, Shelley deposited a coin into the rack to retrieve a copy of the local publication.
The dog was actually a collie/husky mix. The caption said that a professor doing studies on the human/companion animal bond would be having an open meeting to test dogs for suitability as therapy dogs to visit local nursing homes. The accompanying story said that studies proved that petting an animal reduced stress in humans. That was why nursing homes encouraged the therapy dog program. Shelley smiled knowingly and called the phone number listed to obtain the time of the meeting a week later.
"Guess what, Lee", Shelley said to her silver/white Siberian as she drove across town. Lee pricked her small ears as she heard her name spoken and slowly waved her tail. Shelley continued, "You must be on your best behavior. You're going to be tested tonight."
The pair soon found the building where the meeting was to be held. A man at the door directed them to a large room at the end of the hallway. As she neared the door she heard a cacophony of assorted bow-wows, woofs and yaps. She opened the door. The room was filled with all kinds of dogs! She saw a greyhound, a boxer, a Labrador, a German Shepherd, a Keeshond, a Pekingese, and several mixed breeds. There was even a cat and a rabbit in their group.
Shelley sat down next to the lady with the Greyhound. Before they could become acquainted, they were interrupted by the professor calling the meeting to order. Dr. Peterson explained that he and his colleagues would be testing a few dogs at a time. The primary purpose of this test, he explained, was to see each dog's reaction to petting by strangers and to the various nursing home equipment .
One man would be behind a walker, one would be bent over a cane and the third tester was in a wheelchair. The handler was to walk up to each tester who would pet the dog. Each dog that passed would be given an engraved tag to be worn on the dogs collar, a certificate, and a wallet-sized plastic card for identification.
Shelley and Lee were the second ones to be called. Shelley felt a little nervous. Although she knew Lee always demonstrated affection around people, she had no idea how her dog would react to all the strange apparatus that Dr. Peterson had mentioned would be included in the test. There was only one way to find out.
"Okay, young lady," the kind-faced Dr. Peterson called, gesturing to her to come out to the large reception area. "You're next." Shelley smiled and quietly asked Lee to heel on-leash beside her. "Let's start you over there," Dr. Peterson pointed to the man pretending to be a senior citizen hunched over the walker. "Just walk her over to Tom and we'll see how she does."
"Come on, Lee" Shelley prompted. They approached the man who was leaning on the walker. Lee arched her neck and pricked her ears in attention as they neared him. Shelley and her dog stopped a few inches from the walker. The man started to talk to Shelley and reached down to pet Lee. Lee was intent on sniffing the silver colored device in front of her. As soon as she felt the man's hand on her head, Lee immediately gave the man her full attention and sidled closer for more petting, her thick fox-like tail waving a greeting.
Then the man did something unexpected. He lifted the walker and scraped it along the ground as he crept forward. Lee sidestepped to get out of the way. The man continued his forward progress and started to move in a circle around them. Every few steps he would stop. The walker made a teeth-grating screeching sound with each abrasive movement against the tile floor.
The man continued to call for Lee to come to him as he circled around them. He even "accidentally" bumped the Siberian a few times with the walker as the circles became smaller and smaller. Shelley held her breath being careful not to interfere as she followed behind her dog. Lee followed her new friend around the room moving with him next to the walker. She wagged her tail each time he would stop to pet her. The Siberian seemed unperturbed by this first strange device.
"That was great," Dr. Peterson commented from across the room. "Bring her over here to me." Dr. Peterson reached for a cane lying on top of a table. "Here doggie", he called. Dr. Peterson leaned on the cane heavily and extended an exaggeratedly shaking hand towards them. Lee paused a moment but then slowly walked over to Dr. Peterson. The Siberian lowered her head to slide it under the quaking palm. "So far, so good", Shelley thought to herself.
Dr. Peterson then proceeded to loudly tap the cane on the floor as he walked around the room in a stooped position. He even tapped the floor around Lee's paws when he would stop to pet her. When she thought the cane was coming too close to suit her, the Siberian shifted her position slightly. But she always returned for more attention. As a final thought, Dr. Peterson tapped the cane on the floor and then rested it along her dog's side. Again, the Siberian Husky seemed more interested in seeking attention from Dr. Peterson than she did in his cane. "Well, that was fine", Dr. Peterson assessed. "And now for the last part." Let's see how she is around a wheelchair.
On cue, a man in a wheelchair rolled out to them from around the corner. Although the Siberian Husky had seen none of the nursing home apparatus before, this moving gizmo appeared to her to be clearly the most startling. Shelley could immediately tell from Lee's posture that she was bewildered by the self-propelled device.
"Here, puppy, nice puppy," the man coaxed. Perplexed, Lee flattened her ears. Extending her neck, she lowered her head and slowly approached the man/chair. The man did not reach out but continued to urge the dog to come closer. Pricking her ears, the Siberian cautiously stepped forward and sniffed at the arm of the wheelchair. Then the man reached over and patted her head. Lee immediately turned her head and looked up at Shelley in relief. Shelley couldn't help laughing. It was obvious to everyone that the dog had just determined that a human being sat in front of her and not a monster. Lee chortled a brief "woo-woo-woo" in discovery.
Shelley let out her breath not realizing that she had been holding it in suspense. However, her relief was short-lived. The wheelchair advanced forward, nudging her dog out of the way. The man called Lee to him again. More sure of herself, the Siberian returned to the man in the wheelchair. He petted her again and then quickly wheeled the chair around them. He stopped in front of them. He advanced forward and lightly bumped into her dog. Lee took a step back. Again he wheeled forward and bumped the dog.
Deliberately and assuredly, the Siberian Husky stepped forward. Shelley held her breath, keeping the leash slack as she had been instructed. "Uh-oh", she muttered to herself. "What's going on here." Lee purposefully strode to the side of the man in the wheelchair. Ever so slowly she reared up on her hind legs like a circus horse. The Siberian Husky lightly placed one paw on the arm of the wheelchair for balance and leaned over towards the man face. "What is she doing?", Shelley asked herself.
Slowly the silver and white Siberian brought her face closer to that of the "invalid" in the wheelchair that had been nagging her. Everyone in the room was silently watching. With her gentle brown eyes shining brightly, Lee slowly stretched across the man's lap and delicately licked him on the chin. She then returned her front feet to the ground and laid her head on his knee. Everyone smiled.
"This dog passed!" Dr. Peterson exclaimed heartily. Shelley breathed a huge sigh of relief. All three testers gathered around to offer their congratulations and pet the new team member.
"You know, Lee," Shelley addressed her dog later that evening. They were both stretched out on the couch admiring the specially engraved therapy dog tag Shelley was adding to Lee's collar. "I thought that you could do it." Lee cuddled closer and rested her chin on Shelley's knee. "Now I can share with everyone in the nursing home a secret that I have known for a long time." Shelley happily leant over and kissed the top of the silken head pressed against her. "Siberians are absolutely the best therapy of all!"