Posted on 04/15/2009 10:33:33 PM PDT by kanawa
Maria Hernandez's face brightened up when Chaplain Robert Gibbs walked into her room with his pit bull, Jake, by his side.
This dog is beautiful, the 77-year-old nursing home resident at Trisun Healthcare said in Spanish. Man's best friend, she assured with a convinced smile and nod.
But she hesitated in petting him.
A pit bull bit her hand several years ago when she tried to pet it, she said. Now she's wary. Pit bulls are dangerous, she said. It's like having a gun in your hand, she compared.
If so, then perhaps Jake is the cuddliest, most lovable metaphoric gun out there.
Jake, a certified therapy dog, is Gibbs' trusty companion whenever he visits the elderly and terminally ill at nursing homes and hospices to offer them spiritual and emotional assistance.
He has become indispensable in connecting with those individuals who have grown withdrawn, Gibbs said. And, in the middle of what Gibbs perceives as a wave of anti-pit bull sentiment, Gibbs points at Jake and contests that all dogs — regardless of their breed — are the product of what their masters make of them.
Several incidents involving violent pit bulls have been reported in recent months, and in February, state Rep. Harold Dutton, D-Houston, submitted a bill that would make it a misdemeanor for anyone under 16 years of age to handle a pit bull without adult supervision.
Meanwhile, Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, is pushing for a bill that would prohibit “vicious” dogs from parks and schools and would require their owners to hold liability policies of at least $100,000.
“I think it's shortsighted to target animals,” Gibbs said. “Dogs are what they're made by their owners. Period.”
There was a time when Gibbs, 59, said he distrusted pit bulls. But Jake is a rescued dog and Gibbs decided to keep him under one condition: He would get rid of Jake if the dog ever became aggressive.
Jake never did. The cinnamon-colored pit bull is so friendly and mild-mannered that at one point it occurred to Gibbs that unresponsive patients might react better to Jake than to him.
Gibbs soon discovered Jake thrived where counseling and conversation had failed. Sometimes Jake provided a connection for those who no longer can communicate. Sometimes the dog was the bridge that led into a conversation with patients who have become uninterested in social interaction.
Recently, Gibbs led Jake through Trisun Healthcare and walked toward elderly residents in wheelchairs. Their frail hands reached out to his humongous head and stroked it. For a few minutes, faces around Jake smiled and the conversation focused on what a beautiful, good dog he is.
“He's special. He knows what he's doing,” 75-year-old resident Grace McArvin said.
Back in her room, Hernandez asked Gibbs for a picture of Jake. Her daughter offered to frame one in a wall next to Hernandez's Labrador, Lucky.
After a couple of minutes of conversation, Hernandez, who wasn't able to hold back her smiles and compliments, finally stretched her hand out to Jake. She petted his lower back. She looked at his face and waited for his reaction. Jake sat docilely.
“Look,” Hernandez told her daughter. “I can touch him.”
or Tibetan
Beautiful — thank you, Kanawa! One of my three year old sons spent part of this sunny afternoon in the back yard with me and our rottie. She was happily sunning herself, and he was sitting in front of her gently and earnestly trying to balance a plastic bowl “hat” on her head. :)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.