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By Charlotte Lankard My oldest son, Alan, flew in from Los Angeles for the holidays. We spent Christmas Day here in Oklahoma City and the rest of the week in Texas visiting grandchildren. Making sure we would have a proper Christmas dinner, Judge Arlene Johnson invited us to her home for the afternoon feast. Present were her three adult children, grandchildren Harry, Alice and Ralph, and a large assortment of friends of all ages. And when you gather at Arlene's home for a celebration, your dogs also are invited. There was Arlene's dog, Cluny, whom she describes as a large black-and-tan mutt. Cluny has the reputation of welcoming all dogs. Her Christmas Day guests were a pug named Charlie, a big English bulldog named Buster, an Austrian hound named Nesta, and Caymus, a lab/setter mix. The smallest was Jada, a Lab/shepherd mix puppy, and the largest was Ajax, a great Pyrenees/shepherd mix. While the people gathered in the house, the dogs greeted each other like old friends and played in the back yard. I had the distinct impression these dogs had celebrated many other holidays and family get-togethers with one another. In fact, they were having so much fun, we two-legged creatures all made several trips outdoors to join in their play. Increasing research tells us that pets are good for people and therapeutic for anyone in a hospital or a nursing home. I saw this firsthand when I had a little Maltese named Mia as my houseguest while her family was traveling. Every time Mia came to visit, I would take her to work with me. She not only greeted people as they walked in the door, she would lie quietly beside them in a chair, and they would stroke her soft fur while we talked. When she went with me to visit my mother at the nursing home, everyone we passed would smile and reach out to pet her and talk with her. Mia died this year, and we miss her. But memories of her never fail to bring smiles to our faces. Pets give what people often do not. They respond unconditionally, are nonthreatening and make no conversational demands. They don't judge, criticize, disagree or talk back. They give unquestioning love and acceptance regardless of age, handicap or appearance. In addition, they improve morale and self-esteem, help people cope when they are feeling lonely, help maintain a sense of humor and stimulate physical activity and social interaction. Will Rogers once said, "If there are no dogs in heaven, then when I die, I want to go where they went.” Or maybe you could just get an invitation to Arlene Johnson's home for Christmas dinner. Charlotte Lankard is a marriage and family therapist in private practice with Baptist Counseling Associates and director of the James L. Hall Center for Mind, Body and Spirit at Integris. |