| I have many hobbies, but my favorite is my dogs. They continue to
inspire everything I do in my life. A person can learn a lot from an
animal -- especially the dog. A dog can teach you much about yourself.
My dogs have created many lasting friendships over the years. It has given me a good reason to get out and exercise and free the mind of a stressful day. Long ago, this hobby taught me much about responsibility, love, discipline, honesty, loyalty, life and death. Getting out in the public with my dogs has given more opportunities than one could ever imagine. If you've never experienced such a hobby, it would be hard to define. One thing sets greatly in my mind. When I visited a nursing home with my German Shepherd, Lily, within a few minutes of our visits she would bring back life to many. The smiles and body language you receive from these people you'll never forget. |
 Kathy & Lily (Photo by Nancy Swanner) |
"Looking into my dog's eyes tells me everything I would ever want to know."
--Kathy Sater-Partch
“Lily and Lois”
By Kathy Partch
When I would take my late Lily to the nursing homes, this became extremely rewarding for us. I was surprised that a great amount of residents in those places are extremely passionate about animals and drawn to them like ‘bees to honey.’ While visiting with a lot of them, they always had stories they wanted to share and never wanted you to leave. Even doctors and nurses would take the time to give Lily a pet and compliment. Most of the residents would want to visit for a great length of time. It was always difficult to leave those places. They would often ask, “When are you coming back?” Also, it would make you feel guilty you didn't get to everyone you saw that day.
One time when Joe, Lily and I were visiting our own mother, Dorothy Partch in a nursing home, there was a very, very old lady, Lois, who shared the same room. I'll never forget this. The curtain was open between their 2 beds where Lois was laying as we entered the room. We didn't want to close the curtain because I felt it would've been rude since she was awake. Lois just lay there quietly staring at the ceiling. I said hello to her. She only smiled and never said anything back. Lily noticed Lois right away after greeting mother. She then wanted to go to Lois’ bedside. I didn't let her because I didn't know if Lois liked dogs, or was afraid of them, or whatever.
About 15 minutes went by, and Lois finally dropped her right hand down by her bedside and motioned for Lily to come to her. I dropped Lily's leash and told her it was okay. Lily approached Lois with calmness and sat by her bedside quietly just looking at her. Lois then reached to her night stand without saying a word and got her hair brush. She started to slowly brush the top of Lily’s head and down the sides of her neck. The look on Lois’ face was immeasurable beyond words. It was like, at this moment, Lois was in a different place and time – Probably, bringing back treasured memories into her thoughts. You could see the calming effect on both Lois and Lily. It was a tremendously touching moment...
All of this time, Lois said nothing and kept stroking Lily’s beautiful white coat. I then said to Lois, “Oh, Lily loves what you’re doing. But, you’ll have her dog hair in your brush now!” Lois looked back at me with an unconcerned expression and spoke for the first time. …“That’s okay! I don’t mind – besides that, our hair color is exactly the same and I will not be able to tell the difference.”
