Second Therapy Visit - in Halloween Costumes!

Today was the Halloween party at the healthcare facility where Red and I do our therapy visits. We were invited to come and visit the residents in the rooms who weren't going - or unable to go - to the party in the dining room. I dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood, and Red was the Wolf in Grandmother's Clothes. Everyone loved our outfits, especially the staff =) The residents had a lot of family and friends visitors today, which was nice to see. They all really liked Red and I too.

We weren't accompanied by anyone this time, so we were on our own. Most of the rooms were empty since most of the residents were attending the party in the dining room, but we visited the rooms with people still in them. One elderly gentlemen really loved Red and encouraged Red to give him kisses all over his face til he licked his glasses askew! Then he played with him and petted him while we chatted. After awhile, I started to get up to leave and he made me promise that we would come back and see him again. =)

Another lady - who was 102 years old according to her son - couldn't sit up in her bed, so I brought Red right up to her and he gently gave her a single kiss on the cheek. She started laughing and said, "He kissed me! Did you see that??" She was all smiles, and her visitors thanked us for coming and seeing her.

The funniest part of the visit was when Red and I went to check out the party in the dining room. There were a lot of residents there with family members, and about 6 employees were dressed up in costumes doing a dance for the residents. There was one girl dressed up in a very colorful clown outfit fringe, an orange wig, and a twirling umbrella - and after the song was over, she started dancing over to the doorway where Red and I were standing. Red started growling, his hair stood up, and then started barking. He started to pull me forward like he wanted to go after her! I'm thinking - "Well at least I know he'd pass that portion of the WAE, but now is not the time!" I called him back and made him sit and down. Then once the clown walked by, I asked if he could approach her and she agreed, so I took Red up to her and then he was completely fine. I think he just didn't like her in that outfit doing weird movements toward us! Everyone thought it was quite amusing. We stayed for about 30 minutes again, and decided to go after we made the rounds.

Red seemed to do better this time as far as hyperness and pulling goes. We went for a run earlier and I used a different collar this time, an all nylon flat martingale style collar, and a shorter leather leash. So it may have been a combination of the exercise beforehand, and the different collar - but I am confident he will continue to improve the more visits we do. =)