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This was completely unofficial, but Snarky and Pogo were quite popular at the nursing home where my MIL lives. We started taking them over to visit her once or twice a week in the assisted living facility. Sometimes we took them directly to her room. Other times we would wait for her outside the dining room. The residents would stream past us after supper, and many would stop to pet the dogs. Often the residents would tell us stories of their own dogs and tell us how much they missed their pets. A few times, with permission from the facility, we took them to visit special friends who were recovering the medical ward after a fall.
We stopped the visits once MIL's condition deteriorated and she transferred to the memory unit. Unfortunately, some of the cognitively impaired residents had a tendency to rush over and strangle-hug the dogs. The boys were fine with pats, but having a stranger wrap arms around their necks while grabbing a fistful of top-knot and squealing in loud wordless delight was definitely a new experience for them. We felt it was safest for everyone to avoid putting the dogs in these situations.
We stopped the visits once MIL's condition deteriorated and she transferred to the memory unit. Unfortunately, some of the cognitively impaired residents had a tendency to rush over and strangle-hug the dogs. The boys were fine with pats, but having a stranger wrap arms around their necks while grabbing a fistful of top-knot and squealing in loud wordless delight was definitely a new experience for them. We felt it was safest for everyone to avoid putting the dogs in these situations.
