This is a series of caches at or nearby sites that my geodog, Redtail, visited as a certified therapy dog. Redtail is my golden retriever who loves to geocache with me. He’s got a nose for a cache and knows when to sit and stay while I sign the log. He is exceptionally sweet and kind. When he was a puppy Mr. Redtail2000 and I promised that we would get him certified as a therapy dog. Admittedly, he had to take Canine Good Citizenship twice because during the final exam he jumped on the instructor… but only because he loved her so much. Those goldens sure do love to be a puppy! Finally at the mature age of eight, he’s made the ranks as a therapy dog certified by the Southwest Canine Corps of Volunteers. Now I get to share with you some of the more poignant events that occurred during our visits. Please always be mindful and respectful of your surroundings when caching at these sites.
Redtail and I visit Aspen Care, a nursing home/assisted living facility, once a month in conjunction with a visit to Casa Palo Duro the same morning since they’re only a three minute drive from each other in residential neighborhoods. During the summer one of the staff brings her son who is about four years old. He’s always thrilled to see Redtail and loves to assist us on our visits at the house. This past visit we reminded one of the residents from Northern NM that it was chile season and that I could smell the roasters all over town. She’s been napping sitting up on her bed for the last few months and today she said that she’s had enough of this and is ready to go. After that we visited with a few residents in the community room where one of them is constantly calling out her late brother’s name as if she were a little girl and wanted him to come to her. From there we went to the other wing and visited a woman in her 90s who we found in her bed with the sheet over her head. She woke quickly and started to cry saying, “Most of them found me but I’m not sure the others will.” She was also very upset that she couldn’t find her father and her three sons. We held hands and eased her mind while we visited. On our way heading out one of the residents said about Redtail, “He’s as content as can be to let the world go by…”
Cache on…
Congrats to the early birds, fgfsumh & Duck-Boy on the FTF