A Dog Walks Into a Nursing Home: Lessons in the Good Life From an Unlikely Teacher

A Dog Walks Into a Nursing Home: Lessons in the Good Life From an Unlikely Teacher
by Sue Halpern

“What are you going to do with your one wild and precious life?”

This is the author’s closing thought, as I finish reading this book and I think it sums up this poignant autobiography quite well. When your role in life arrives at a fork in the road, whether due to job changes, life changes, kids growing up, etc… when given an opportunity to use your time in a new and different way, what will you choose do with it? Will you use it for yourself? For others? For good?

In Sue Halpern‘s case, she found herself oddly, and unexpectedly, motivated to train her dog,  (labrador/poodle cross) Pransky, as a therapy dog, and begin visiting an area nursing home. She may not have gotten the exact place and position desired, but soon quickly realized that County was where she and Pransky were supposed to be, and that they were doing real and good work.

This book reminds me quit a lot of an advance read I was privy to last year. It has the same warmth and meditative quality as Heather Lende’s Take Good Care of the Garden and the Dogs (the follow up to If You Were Here, I’d Know Your Name.) Both authors manage to traverse the delicate lines between life and death, and loss, with wit, warmth and charm, sharing life stories that are entertaining, but also leaving the readers with a positive message and lessons learned.

Halpern’s book show us that, while life may change, living in a nursing home does not change the residents, and is also so much more than the perceived stigma most of us have concerning these facilities and the folks within them.. People behind those doors are still alive, still living, still sharing what they’ve learned in life, still in need of, and deserving of our time and attention. They still have a lot to teach us. The author’s parting words, discussing the results of Australian nurse Mary Oliver’s study of the five biggest regrets of her patients before they died, is a great final bit of advice to those of us who are too caught up in the here and now. I remember reading about Mary Oliver’s study just last year, and it’s a message I have often passed on to folks I know. In fact, I told someone just last week “Nobody ever said, on their death bed, “I wish I’d kept a cleaner house.””

Life is always reminding us to take note of how we spend our time. It may be found in the little things in nature, that we fail to notice in our haste. It may be in the nagging little things we put off doing at home because we are “too busy”, until, one at a time, they pile up into projects that appear too big for us to even attempt to tackle. Or it might be courtesy of an energetic dog, who just needed a job.

**We will be giving away  a copy of this book at our Dog Yoga class on Saturday, June 15th.  Another reason to come and get fit with your dog! Don’t delay, SIGN UP, you just might win! 

Thank you to Jennifer Casula for our book reviews!  Jennifer Casula is a group fitness instructor living in Texas with her husband, two turtles, three dogs and four cats. This summer, the family (minus the turtles and cats) enjoyed two camping trips to Inks Lake State Park.