news-record.com

Cassie and I have set out on a new adventure the past few weeks. I'm taking her to the assisted living facility at Twin Lakes Community in Burlington to visit with the residents. It's a decision I made after searching for a way to serve God and my community somehow. And I learned that through pets I could possibily do some good.

I could take either Greta or Cassie, or both of them, but I chose to take Cassie because she really needs a job to do since I don't have any cattle in my backyard for her to herd. (I know, that's very unfair of me.) But she loves attention from people, so it seemed like a great idea to take her to visit the residents.

We've visited twice now and both visits have been completely different. Our first was a little disorganized. There was a mix-up and I wasn't on the calendar for a pet visit that day. But we still visited with two residents. Cassie was a little anxious and did a lot of sniffing around. And by the end of the visit she was exhausted. But overall she was very well-behaved.

Our second visit was on Saturday. She was really hyper, but got so much love and attention. Four residents visited with her and she was fawned over, petted and complimented on her shiny coat (I brushed her before we left the house). She loved every minute of it. She sat when I asked her to and didn't beg for attention, which I'm very proud of.

I thought ahead this time and had treats in my pocket, so she was rewarded for any extra-good behavior.

I hope that the more often we return for visits, the more comfortable Cassie will get with her surroundings, so she won't have to sniff every nook and cranny when we arrive and won't jump in excitement each time someone approaches her. But I suppose if she didn't do that, she wouldn't be my Cassie.