{"id":2260,"date":"2013-05-22T16:53:41","date_gmt":"2013-05-22T16:53:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.animalhealthfoundation.net\/blog\/?p=2260"},"modified":"2013-05-22T16:55:24","modified_gmt":"2013-05-22T16:55:24","slug":"meet-the-canine-minister-to-an-alzheimers-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.animalhealthfoundation.org\/blog\/2013\/05\/meet-the-canine-minister-to-an-alzheimers-man\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Canine Minister to an Alzheimer’s Man"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"alaskan<\/a>By Ron Berler<\/strong><\/p>\n

Appeared originally in Mysterious Ways<\/a> magazine. <\/em><\/p>\n

Casey wasn\u2019t the most popular dog in her owner Carol Baird\u2019s neighborhood of Dalton, Ga. A huge, burly Alaskan malamute, she had a heart of gold but a nose for trouble.<\/p>\n

She\u2019d slip out the Baird family\u2019s back door and trot down the street without a care. Most people gave her a wide berth. That was hardly surprising. From a distance, Casey looked a lot like a wolf.<\/p>\n

She behaved like one too, or at least had an appetite like one. Neighbors often stormed over to complain. \u201cYour dog got out again, and ate all of our dog\u2019s food!\u201d or \u201cCasey\u2019s turned over our garbage!\u201d<\/p>\n

So when a man rapped on Carol\u2019s door, said he lived three blocks away and then asked for her dog\u2019s name, Carol braced herself. What did Casey do this time?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a sliding-glass door that we usually keep open in the summer,\u201d the man began, \u201cand every day for the last several weeks your dog has wandered off the street and come uninvited into my house.\u201d<\/p>\n

That dog, <\/em>Carol thought. \u201cI\u2019m so sorry,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t know why Casey gets herself into such mischief. A lot of it\u2019s our fault. We have to start watching her more closely. But honestly, she means no harm…\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, you don\u2019t understand,\u201d the man interrupted. \u201cI came over to thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The man must have seen the confusion on Carol\u2019s face. No neighbor had ever said anything positive about Casey before. They usually wanted to know who would fill up the two-foot hole she\u2019d energetically dug in their backyard.<\/p>\n

But not this neighbor. He explained that his father, who had Alzheimer\u2019s, lived with him and his wife and needed constant monitoring. The father rarely moved from his easy chair in front of the TV in the living room and was often agitated. Caring for him had exhausted the man and his wife.<\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t remember the last time we had two hours to ourselves,\u201d the man said. \u201cAnd then, one day, your dog showed up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Casey wandered into the house through the sliding door and made straight for the man\u2019s father. \u201cShe sat right beside him, like she had planned to visit him all along,\u201d the neighbor said, his voice filled with wonder.<\/p>\n

He saw his father turn to Casey and begin to pet her. He stroked her and stroked her, and fell peacefully asleep. \u201cHe slept two full hours,\u201d the neighbor said. \u201cIt was the biggest midday reprieve my wife and I have had in years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Casey returned the next day, and every day after that, as if she had an appointment to keep. Each time was the same. She\u2019d pad to the old man\u2019s chair and sit by his side, letting him pet her till he dozed off.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo my wife and me,\u201d the neighbor said, \u201cCasey was a gift from heaven. That\u2019s why I\u2019ve come to see you today. Is Casey here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, she is,\u201d Carol said. \u201cCasey!\u201d<\/p>\n

The big malamute trotted up, looking at the neighbor with searching eyes. The neighbor gave a gentle pat. \u201cYou must have known, didn\u2019t you?\u201d the neighbor said to Casey. \u201cThat\u2019s why you just stopped coming a couple of days ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cKnown what?\u201d Carol asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy father died in his sleep the night after Casey\u2019s last visit. She knew her job was over.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Ron Berler Appeared originally in Mysterious Ways magazine. Casey wasn\u2019t the most popular dog in her owner Carol Baird\u2019s neighborhood of Dalton, Ga. A huge, burly Alaskan malamute, she had a heart of gold but a nose for trouble. She\u2019d slip out the Baird family\u2019s back door and trot down the street without a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dogs","category-human-animal-bond"],"yoast_head":"\nMeet the Canine Minister to an Alzheimer's Man | The Animal Health Foundation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.animalhealthfoundation.org\/blog\/2013\/05\/meet-the-canine-minister-to-an-alzheimers-man\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Meet the Canine Minister to an Alzheimer's Man | The Animal Health Foundation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Ron Berler Appeared originally in Mysterious Ways magazine. 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