Tributes to Jessica
"...they have brightened the days
of both our patients and our staff over the last few
years."
--Mary Horan,
Director, Family-Centered Care
"This is even better than a sedative before surgery."
--Pam
WCMH patient
"She's a wonderful treat! Patients see her coming,
and just instantly fall in love with her."
--Sandra
Critical Care Unit
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In Memoriam: JESSICA...
Reprinted with permission from Windham Hospital StaffLINK,
August 17,2006
At the end of June this year, we received a short
e-mail message: "Sadly, our very special Jessica succumbed
to a failing liver and swollen, inoperable leg joints
on June 27th. She went to sleep quietly in my arms,
wrapped in her purple blanket." Curious, we
began to investigate, and discovered the touching
story of a compassionate woman and her wonderful
dog.
Laurel Perry and Jessica were the first of the
Pet Visitation volunteers at Windham Hospital, and
served our patients for about 5 years. Jessica
was a tri-color Sheltie, six months old when Laurel
first met her. "She slathered me with kisses
and joyful chuckles - something she has never done
since with me or anybody else. I was hooked. She came
home with me that day," says Perry.
Not long after the two
paired up, Laurel saw a notice at the vet's office
about pet therapy training. The two friends went through
the Delta Society training and evaluation, passed,
and readied themselves to embark on a new adventure.
Two days later, says Laurel, Jessica was injured during "an
argument with the hostile dog across the street and
a fast moving, swaying horse trailer. It was on the
9/11 that Jessica lost one of her front legs and I
nearly lost it altogether." Laurel vowed to give
Jessica a whole new life to make up for the one she
had lost, and found a meaningful retirement activity
for herself. |
Laurel kept that vow, helped
Jessica through her recovery and subsequent re-certification
as a "Pet
Partner" in animal therapy, and the two began
visiting nursing facilities together. "I just
provided transportation and an occasional lift into
bed. On the second visit, she knew how to hop from
room to room, peek into the door and decide if this
was a visit room or not. " Ms. Perry took Jessica
everywhere "in style-riding on her trademark purple
blanket in a lay-flat stroller from the Goodwill."
Laurel continues the story of Jessica-an obvious
love story, laced with wonderful anecdotes about her
canine friend. "Once she insisted on approaching
a stony-faced lady in a wheelchair. The lady motioned
me to put Jess up on her chair table-and then threw
her arms around Jess, sobbing, "Oh Petie!" Jessica
just licked a tear or two and waited for the storm
to subside.
 According to Perry, Jessica "just knew that
a hop across the rehab room would give new energy (and
a smile) to hard-to-do exercises. She knew how to cuddle
down next to a semi-conscious patient with her muzzle
in the hollow of her shoulder so the lady's hands could
work in and out of her thick fur. Visiting some special
needs children, Jessica patiently sat on a table while
a gaggle of Cerebral Palsy girls (whose only sounds
were loud squeals and hoots of laughter) brushed and
brushed and brushed-using and stretching muscles that
were rarely used otherwise. Jess sat quietly next to
an autistic boy, who routinely screamed in tantrums
of frustration, until he began to respond. He blew
Jessica a kiss the last time we visited.
"But our favorite place was Windham Hospital.
She always visited the Intensive Care Unit and then
one of the regular units, including the outpatient
surgery center. She was amazingly deft in dodging wires
and tubes to find a comfortable spot next to a seriously
ill patient, and was reluctant to leave when the patient
was a child. She was a tremendous hit with the staff
who knew her by name and greeted her like an old friend.
Jessica brought smiles wherever she went."
Our sympathy goes out to Ms. Perry; Jessica will
certainly be missed by all who were touched by this
special dog and her best friend, Laurel Perry.
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