I got to visit my friends at the memory care facility this week. I saw the lady who likes my high fives, and the woman who used to follow me around chatting on a sofa in the lobby. The high five lady cheerfully waved us off and said they’d be in the big room in a bit.

We saw one of my regulars right away, but she has been fading over the past few weeks. She used to be really present and talkative. But in a short period of time she’s become vague and confused. She didn’t even see me on the sofa at first but once she did, she was happy to see me.

I saw another one of my regulars, sitting on a sofa and anxious to see me. But before my human could bring me over, a staff member led us to all the wheelchair bound residents. They were lined up in a semi circle, and some of them were dozing. Sometimes a staff member gently woke up a resident to visit with me. The routine was pretty much the same each time. Even though I was right in front of them, they didn’t see me at first, and it took some effort from the staff to get them to notice me. But once they did they were almost always delighted I was there.

The only one who was really unhappy was a woman who used to be really lively and a little excitable. She used to tell me she loved me and would make little dancey, squirmy moves. But now she’s in a wheelchair and always looks depressed. She didn’t want to visit today.

Finally I got to see the regular who was waiting for me, and that was really nice. I spent as much time with her as possible before we had to go off and visit other residents. One was the guy we saw last time with the oxygen tubes in his nose. He’s always smiling and he loves seeing me. Another one of my regulars was having a birthday the next day and she was in a really good mood.

When we finished and went back to the lobby, we found the high five lady and her friend still there on the sofa. So we sat with them for a while. I was tired and bored of my treats so I wasn’t in a high five mood. But it was still a nice visit.