April and May 2018
After Richard died, the question was what to do with Tacoma. He couldn’t stay with me, as I’m gone too much.
Andy, the owner of Via Elegante, Richard’s last assisted living place, offered to take Tacoma as the house dog for his facility in Sierra Vista. It would be a big promotion, as there was not only the one house with ten residents, but three houses all with long hallways in between. But unfortunately, there were no doggie doors. There were managers to help make sure he got his food and medicine, but since he roamed between the three buildings and gave no indication that he had to go out, he had frequent accidents inside.
After two months, he got fired—mainly for peeing next to people with catheters and barking at spirits. The staff call them permanent residents. I thought his antics were amusing, but the staff did not.
Then he came home with me again. I told him the universe said we weren’t done with each other yet. He stayed with me for a few weeks, and I did learn to love him in the end.
Now he’s found his perfect home, with colleague and friend, Nancy and her golden retriever, Gracie.
Gracie taught Tacoma to act more like a dog, and for the most part, he has no accidents. He has even learned to play with toys, which he had no concept of before. He’s retired from caregiving, but he’s still an angel dis-guised as a dog.
NOTE:
This is a chapter from my book Parkinson’s: A Love Story with Dementia for Dessert. You may find it on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Parkinsons-Love-Story-Dementia-Dessert-ebook/dp/B07K4RLC2D/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1542135434&sr=8-1&keywords=Parkinson%27s+A+Love+Story+with+Dementia+for+Dessert&dpID=41xS3edPH0L&preST=_SY445_QL70_&dpSrc=srch Your feedback and reviews are most welcome.
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