Assessment Visit 3
1/17/11

    I arrived at the Avalon building on Friday, like usual, for my third pet visit of the project. When I went under the green awning and past the front desk, I arrived at Laura, my coordinator’s office like usual, but when I said I was going to go door to door through the hospital, she said, “Lets go to the Cottage.” I thought what in the world is the cottage, an it got even more odd when we approached two solid metal doors at the end of a hallway which required a code to pass through. I was totally surprised when we entered a pastel colored room with a circle of happy residents as, according to the looks of the door, I thought that this might be a staff room. The room had a bird a fireplace and many staff playing games with the residents. Everyone in the room really liked seeing my dog and the brave ones especially enjoyed having him sit on their lap. Although one, with white hair and a red sweater, immediately went to get her pants washed. Eventually, Laura typed in the code, and we left the “cottage.”  As we were walking back towards Laura’s cluttered office, we heard one of the nurses say that “Room 26 wants a pet visit,” so we went to room 26. The man in room 26 was just recovering from surgery and was very nice. He was watching TV in his dark room and my dog sat right next to him on the bed. I was not nearly as nervous on this trip to the Avalon. I was not worried at all for the great people I met, and that resulted in a more pleasant experience. It also felt very good to be able to give a pet visit to a man that really wanted one. On Friday, I saw the Cottage, a very cool place, and a man who wanted, and enjoyed, a pet visit.