Pets Mixed With People Share Joyous Moments

Happy Times June 2005

FT. LAUDERDALE June 2005 - Imagine that you have gotten on in life. Your kids have grown and have their own kids. You have been retired some time now. You have your little house and your puppy and kitty to keep you company. You see your grandchildren now and again but everyone is pretty busy with life and you understand.

You promise yourself that you won't end up in a nursing home and you save your money and trust your children to be there for you when the time comes.

That time comes and in spite of all the planning and preparation your family is still too busy and here you are living in a nursing care facility. You start out very angry and that passes. Then you get depressed and you are lonely and that doesn't pass.

Day after day your happiness depends on how physically comfortable you are with the aches and pains of old age and on how well your care-givers attend to your needs. But even on the best of days your life is devoid of love.

Giving and receiving love is the birthright of a grandparent but you have been robbed of your birthright. You are without family, without pets, without most of your possessions that you had accumulated over life and cherished for their memories.

Then something changes. There is a rustle in the hallway, a jingling of tags and a patter of paws. Before you can turn to see what it is there is someone standing in your doorway with a big smile on their face asking you if you like puppies. You look down and there is the most beautiful furry angel you have ever seen.

SHARE-A-PET is a non-profit organization dedicated to making the lives of the elderly and otherwise restricted more enjoyable by offering pet assisted therapy (PAT) to nursing homes. Sachin Mayi, SHARE-A-PET's executive director, has dedicated his life to improving the lives of the most neglected aspect of society, our elderly. Every day Sachin and his pets, Tenzin and Shivani, along with many other SHARE-A-PET volunteers and their pets work to fill this void.

"We can't tell you what a joy it is to offer this amazing service," says Mayi. "We go in to these homes to offer love and that is exactly what we get in return. It is the greatest thing we have ever done. All of our volunteers fall in love with the residents who are so sweet, innocent and compassionate."

There are many studies coming out showing the benefits of PAT. It has proven to be an amazing physical and emotional therapy.

"We started our volunteering at a center for severally handicapped children," says Mayi, "and our dog was able to elicit responses from some of the children that conventional therapies were failing to get." This inspired SHARE-A-PET to see how it faired with the elderly and the results were unanimously great.

Now, a little less than two years later most of the residents know the pets by name and are anxiously waiting for their arrival each week.

Theresa, 85, knew the way to a man's heart was through his stomach and Tenzin, the big male yellow lab was no exception. She has become one of Tenzin's favorites and he rushes into her room each time to greet her. There is no end to the hugs and kisses and Theresa's bulletin board is littered with photos of the two of them together.

"We have created an ever growing family," says Mayi. "The pets are the ultimate ice-breakers and after that you find yourself sharing your lives together while sharing your pets. I feel like the luckiest man in the world because I have hundreds of grandparents that love me and care for me every day. That beats any pension plan I can think of."

Marjorie, 97, had a standard poodle, Pompi, who was the love of her life. She never had any children and now spends her days in the furthest corner room of the nursing home. But she quickly became a SHARE-A-PET favorite with her amazing charm and intelligent conversation. And it was considered a gift from heaven when Joan and Bernie, the large beautiful black standard poodle, joined the SHARE-A-PET volunteer family and began visiting with Marjorie. She was ecstatic. "We imagined that Pompi sent one of her great great great grandchildren to please her master," says Joan.

There is no end to the wonderful stories that surround the SHARE-A-PET organization. They have set out to accomplish a goal and have experienced nothing but success. "If we compiled a list of individuals who have asked us to let them have our dogs it would literally be a mile long. And we always tell them yes. And we always come back. Because our organization is dedicated and we will not stop until we have given love to every lonely person on earth. This is our promise," says Mayi.

And SHARE-A-PET doesn't stop. The organization is quickly becoming known as the one that goes the extra mile to bring love and joy to its family of residents. The organization has brought flowers, donated books on tape, given hugs and kisses and sympathetic ears and even last year, with donations from Ted Hess and Michele Greene of local State Farm Agencies, played Santa Claus, delivering 500 SHARE-A-PET teddy bears to its residents.

If you feel the urge to participate in this amazing ongoing campaign to help your community, we highly recommend you check out the SHARE-A-PET organization. It is bringing joy, healing and purpose... one pet and one heart at a time.