DIXIE, the Therapy Dog

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DIXIE, the Therapy Dog Dixie was certified by the Alliance of Therapy Dogs in 2020. I adopted her in 2016 when she was appr

Illnesses & snow kept us from our twice a month visits to the Villas in the last few weeks, but we made it there today. ...
21/01/2025

Illnesses & snow kept us from our twice a month visits to the Villas in the last few weeks, but we made it there today. And we made a private visit, too!
Today was definitely Sweater Weather!

Dixie and I visited a new location this week. We were asked to visit the staff at CRIS Healthy Aging in Danville. We met...
14/01/2025

Dixie and I visited a new location this week. We were asked to visit the staff at CRIS Healthy Aging in Danville. We met quite a few employees & several patrons who stopped to ask about & pet Dixie.
As is common, I forgot to take photos during our visit. Here’s Dixie in the common room, the front of the building & enjoying her reward:

Dixie is doing great! I’ve been busy with a few things and haven’t posted for awhile. Now, Dixie has two younger dogs i...
11/11/2024

Dixie is doing great! I’ve been busy with a few things and haven’t posted for awhile. Now, Dixie has two younger dogs in her home! But, the good news is the two younger ones are great playmates for each other and they leave Dixie alone to watch from the patio or snooze on her bed!
Stormy is our latest family member. She was a foster fail from the Vermilion County Animal Shelter 😉.
Dixie and I continue with our twice monthly visits to The Villas of Hollybrook and especially enjoy our friends in the Memory Care Unit. Most of the photos are from there.
We recently started doing home visits for a lovely lady. This was requested by her daughter who contacted VCAS to ask about dog visits. Turns out this sweet lady was very involved in local animal rescue some years ago! She loved Dixie on sight and we are enjoying our time with her (& we met her husband once).

We made it back to Carle hospital today; it had been awhile! We met so many lovely staff and patients. We were lucky to meet several adolescents on the pediatric unit, too!

Dixie did some good work today! Visited such nice patients & families 😍 We even had fun on elevator rides talking about...
08/07/2024

Dixie did some good work today! Visited such nice patients & families 😍 We even had fun on elevator rides talking about Dixie & therapy dogs!
We ran into a nurse friend of ours who lives in our area. First time we’ve seen her there. Bless bedside nurses 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Swann Special Care Center event 🎪
24/06/2024

Swann Special Care Center event 🎪

Dixie & I had a lovely therapy visit Saturday at Swann Special Care Center in Champaign. Therapy dog teams were invited ...
23/06/2024

Dixie & I had a lovely therapy visit Saturday at Swann Special Care Center in Champaign. Therapy dog teams were invited to attend a Lollapalooza Summer Party!
The facility is both residential & day services for people with profound disabilities.
The decorations were colorful & abundant. A festival atmosphere geared to those who need adaptations to participate in typical games & activities.
We were warmly welcomed by staff, residents & families!

Have not been to Carle hospital in awhile!Focused on the clinics in early May for Nurse’s Week. Then late May found me o...
04/06/2024

Have not been to Carle hospital in awhile!
Focused on the clinics in early May for Nurse’s Week. Then late May found me out on a wonderful vacation!
After our usual first Monday visit to Villas of Hollybrook, Dixie & I made it to Carle.
The photos, except the last one, are all from our Villa friends.
Once again, at Carle, I am so focused on getting to the rooms on my list, chatting with patients, family & enjoying so many staff, that I totally forget to take pics!
I need a photographer tag-along!

We did end our trip by meeting a nurse who has 2 therapy dogs registered with my same agency! She recognized our leash. Very nice conversation with her about all things therapy dog-ish😁

More Nurse’s Week pics. Dixie & I visited Carle Clinic on Curtis today & we had a great visit! The last time I was there...
09/05/2024

More Nurse’s Week pics. Dixie & I visited Carle Clinic on Curtis today & we had a great visit! The last time I was there, we were all in masks, gloves & gowns due to COVID 😞 I got to visit with 3 great NP colleagues who I miss!
After that dept, Dixie & I wandered the back halls & stopped into all the nurse’s stations we could find😁
We were warmly greeted & even asked to return!
More visits to come this week!

Dixie & I had our twice-a-month visit with our friends at The Villas of Hollybrook on Monday. Dixie found new shoes to s...
08/05/2024

Dixie & I had our twice-a-month visit with our friends at The Villas of Hollybrook on Monday.
Dixie found new shoes to smell (pet owners😀) & new residents to meet.
I’m happy when I can catch her looking right at people! But, she loves ear rubs & back scratches, too!
We have a few Nurse’s Week visits this week, too❤️

Look what the art project was on the day of our routine visit to The Villas! They were so happy to show Dixie ❤️
18/04/2024

Look what the art project was on the day of our routine visit to The Villas! They were so happy to show Dixie ❤️

I’ve not posted pics for awhile. Here’s a few from our last couple visits to The Villas. The last two are inside the Sec...
08/04/2024

I’ve not posted pics for awhile. Here’s a few from our last couple visits to The Villas.

The last two are inside the Second Chance Thrift Shop which is part of the Humane Society of Danville. This is a wonderful spot for gently used clothes, housewares, some pet items, etc. Profits go to our fur friends❤️
I started volunteering there & today, Dixie came along to keep me company! The customers loved her. A mom carried a stuffed dog toy up to checkout & said her son wanted to buy it for Dixie! 😍. I asked the sweet boy if he wanted to give it to Dixie himself & he nodded. Now, Dixie could have easily turned away & shown no interest, but, dang, this doggo did good!
The little guy extended his hand with the toy, Dixie sniffed for awhile, then, gently took it in her teeth & went back to her dog bed! Yea! I told him “She loves it!”
Good girl, Dixie 🥰

The photos today have a few from the Villas visit 2wks ago in the beginning followed by today’s really great visit at Ca...
03/03/2024

The photos today have a few from the Villas visit 2wks ago in the beginning followed by today’s really great visit at Carle hospital! We visited with lots of nice patients & families.
Even after almost an hour & a half, I didn’t get to all the rooms that were on the requested list😟
I think every staff member on the 7th floor was a dog lover! Dixie was surrounded by ooohs, aaahs, & lots of pets from them❤️

06/02/2024

Post #2 for 2/5/24 (for those who enjoy reading stories 😊)

Thanks to Alyssa Julian & Susan Julian, Dixie & I have been visiting The Villas of Hollybrook approximately twice a month for 2 years.

Anyone who has had experience with dementia relatives, friends, patients, etc will relate to this story. It brings back memories of my maternal grandmother, Annie, who lived with that condition for years.

In the common area of the Memory Care unit are pillars with flower boxes encircling them at sitting height. They are filled with colorful artificial flowers. This is the perfect height for Dixie to sniff all that she can! She sniffs everything.
On this first visit, Dixie was sniffing around the plants as I was chatting with a resident. I noticed she was getting her nose down into the plant. She nosed around a bit & came out with a chunk of a blueberry muffin! Oh, she was a happy girl!
I’m sure that muffin was stale & had been stashed there sometime ago, but Dixie didn’t care; it was like finding a small hidden treasure! This area is not the dining room, so this little food tidbit had been carried & buried there for safekeeping!
Now, every time we are near the plants, she has to diligently sniff as many as she can; she is driven & her memory is very much intact! Usually, I can watch her & keep her from dipping her nose too far in.

Today, we were visiting with a lovely couple who was telling us their “couple” history, which was a delightful story, btw.
I was a bit distracted perhaps & when I glanced at Dixie, she had her nose in the flowers. I was telling the couple the story about the blueberry muffin from 2 years ago when Dixie hit the JACKPOT & popped up with a chunk of a PopTart! Oh, my, she hit paydirt again!

Dementia patients tend to fiddle with things. They might fold/unfold the same thing repeatedly or button/unbutton, zip/unzip, etc. Annie liked to rip the hems out of the clothes she was wearing & play with the frayed edges.
Storing or hiding items is common. Leftover food might be found in napkins, tissues, pockets, purses or drawers. In this case, someone tucked these gems away planning to return later for a snack!

Dixie is happily batting cleanup for the sweet food-hoarding elderly. She will search those flowers every single time, that is for sure!

Post #1 for 2/5/24. Visit to The Villas. Some of our dog friends were in the movie theater room getting ready to watch ...
06/02/2024

Post #1 for 2/5/24.
Visit to The Villas. Some of our dog friends were in the movie theater room getting ready to watch a film. We dropped in there to say Hello, then moved on to Memory Care.

I have a funny story to share, but will put it in Post #2 for today!

Carle hospital visit today! So many nice staff took the time to visit us. Dixie had lots of shoes to smell IYKYK! Loves ...
28/01/2024

Carle hospital visit today! So many nice staff took the time to visit us. Dixie had lots of shoes to smell IYKYK!
Loves having her back scratched; I’m sure that’s a smile 😁
Heard lovely dog stories from patients & families❤️One gentleman cried off & on as he told me about a traumatic loss of a family dog. He kept telling me to wait as he teared up because he wanted to tell me about his old friend.😢
Several people asked about training for therapy dog. I love telling my story of Jody “Vee”, dog trainer extraordinaire, who gave me the idea that Dixie would be a great therapy dog! And she led our training & certification process.
Message me if you are interested.

New Year’s Day visit to the Villas. Spent time with old friends & new❤️
02/01/2024

New Year’s Day visit to the Villas. Spent time with old friends & new❤️

Christmas Eve visit to the hospital 🎄🎅🏻Dixie’s new holiday sweater was very cute, but way too big for her! We’ll have to...
25/12/2023

Christmas Eve visit to the hospital 🎄🎅🏻
Dixie’s new holiday sweater was very cute, but way too big for her! We’ll have to find an 80-120lber to give it to for next year!
We brought smiles to lots of staff & got to thank them for being there this holiday!
Patients were lovely. I always start with a knock on their door & asking if they wish to see a therapy dog before I bring Dixie into view.
One lovely lady seemed a little confused by my question, but said “yes”. As Dixie’s face came out from behind me & walked towards her, she started to cry. I think for people at a vulnerable, away-from-home place to see something so normal as a pet on a leash, it can be overwhelming. Her tears flowed as she pet Dixie, but she was happy & smiling, too.
We saw several long-term patients who we have met on previous visits.
I may have mentioned in the past that I tend to skip pediatrics in the high respiratory illnesses season because most of those patients are on isolation & we can’t visit those rooms. But, I chose to go there to visit staff.
The staff found 3 patients we could visit which was great! Two were very young, maybe 1-2 yrs old & very sweet. Giggles when she touched Dixie’s nose were adorable. And an older preteen-ish age who had a stuffed dog in her bed with her. She did not speak but just kept petting Dixie in a calm & soothing way.

Good visit 🥰
Happy Holidays
Thank you to everyone who looks at our posts & reads my stories.

Our early Christmas visit to the Villas of Hollybrook went well! 🎄Dixie’s new holiday sweater was way too large, but she...
22/12/2023

Our early Christmas visit to the Villas of Hollybrook went well! 🎄Dixie’s new holiday sweater was way too large, but she tolerated it.
Sometimes, she greets people by sniffing their shoes 😁 Could find clues there! LOL
We are planning a Christmas Eve visit to Carle hospital. Hope there will be pics & stories after that.

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