It was nearly a week into summer vacation and I hadn’t done a thing! Hershey and I spent the days watching game shows, soap operas, and Jerry Springer. I kept telling myself as I ate my ice cream that next week I’d get on the stick and start a diet plan. I needed access to the internet to look up healthy recipes and eating plans. I planned on riding my bike the three miles to the library to use one of their computers, but every day I would sleep until noon and didn’t feel motivated. Truth be told, I was more afraid of being seen riding my bike than anything else. I came up with one excuse after another.
One evening, a week into summer, Mom called and said she had to work late to cover another person’s shift and asked if I could handle making dinner myself.
“No problem Mom,” I said as she instructed me on how to make Hamburger Helper. I was only half-listening to her because I’d already decided I was going to eat microwaved popcorn for dinner!
I pulled the bag out of the microwave and carefully opened the top so I wouldn’t get a steam burn. I took the bag with me into the living room and turned on the TV. I started to shove handfuls into my mouth while I channel surfed. Hershey was chasing a fallen piece of popcorn around the living room, batting at it with his paw and pouncing on it after it moved.
I put the remote down so I could go get a soda. It was on a local news station. As I walked to the kitchen, I heard the reporter talking about animal-assisted activities. I turned back to the living room and sat on the edge of the couch. What were animal-assisted activities?
The reporter was in a nursing home, interviewing a woman holding a calico cat in her arms. The woman’s name was Jane. She and her cat were visiting nursing home residents.
“Animals bring such happiness to people. Simply petting a purring cat can lower the blood pressure and bring about a feeling of contentment,” Jane said to the reporter.
“Animals do not judge and love unconditionally,” She went on to say. I looked down at Hershey who was rubbing my feet with his cheeks and offering his tummy to me. She was right. I felt like the entire world hated me because of my size, everyone except for Hershey.
I listened as she told the reporter about the visiting animal group she was involved with, and went into the kitchen for a pen and paper to write the website down.
“I’ll see you in a little bit Hershey,” I said as I pushed the piece of paper into the front pocket of my jeans. It may have been summer, but I never wore shorts. I couldn’t bring myself to show my chubby thighs to the world.
I hopped on my bike and rode down the driveway, looking to make sure there was no one around.
Seeing that the coast was clear, I made my way to the library. Three miles sounds like a long way, but on bike, it only takes about twenty minutes. Probably less time if I didn’t have an extra twenty five pounds on me, but what the heck, if I could make it to the library in twenty minutes, I would have enough time to internet surf and be home before my mom.
The library was in the center of town, across the street from a park where the popular kids hung out. As I neared the library, I surveyed the park to see if there was anyone there I should avoid. There was a group of kids standing by a slide smoking cigarettes, but I did not recognize any of them.
Thank God! I thought and parked my bike.
When I entered the building, I searched the faces of the people inside to make sure, once again, that I was safe. The library was relatively empty, and I didn’t see anyone I knew, so I made my way to the back of the building where the computer labs were set up.
I found myself a computer, which wasn’t difficult since there was no one else in the computer lab. I logged in, pulled the slip of paper out of my pocket, and typed in the website.
Paws That Heal was an animal-assisted activity/therapy service dedicated to enhancing quality of life through animal-human interactions. Volunteers and their pets would visit a variety of settings such as nursing homes, hospices, physical therapy rehab centers, hospitals, and schools.
According to their website, research had shown that having animals around reduced anxiety levels and people felt less lonely. I could certainly relate to that statement. Just having Hershey in the same room with me made me content. When he paid attention to me, I felt like the most important person in the world!
I decided to look further into this. Maybe this was something I could do. I knew it wouldn’t be easy for me to put myself into social situations, but with Hershey at my side, I could prevail!
The first step was a screening to determine if Hershey had the potential for this type of work. The screener would assess him on several attributes: he must be social and friendly, unafraid of new people and other animals, he must be comfortable in crowded or noisy situations, he must allow people to pet him, and he must prove to be predictable.
I wasn’t quite sure if he could do this, but I was determined to find out. I delved a little further and looked at pictures of current animal and handler teams and noticed that all of the animals walked on harnesses, even the cats. This was going to be tough! Hershey had never worn one, and I wasn’t sure how to even go about training him to walk on one.
I did a Google search on how to train a cat to walk on a leash and found a page of step-by-step instructions, but I had left the house so fast that I didn’t think to grab some change to pay for printing. It was five cents a page, and I had no money.
It’s okay, I thought to myself. All is have to do is ask the librarian for a piece of paper and a pen so I could write this all down. I was the only person on a computer, so it would be safe to leave for a moment or so. No one would need this particular computer.
I looked around me and made sure it was safe to leave for a minute. I walked over to the woman at the checkout desk when I heard a familiar voice greet me.
“Hi Ellen,” It was Cindy Haskel.
My heart rate jumped and I felt completely flustered. My eyes must have been the size of dinner plates. God, I wanted to sink into a hole and disappear. She was going to say something hurtful, I just knew it.
I swallowed my fear and turned to face her.
“Hi Cindy.” That was all I said, but it was a big step for me. She looked surprised but smiled, seemingly genuine.
“Are you having a good summer so far?” she asked.
“Well, I’m not really doing much right now, but I have plans.”
Great! Now she was going to want to know what my plans were and if I told her, she’d probably broadcast it to all the popular girls and I’d be the butt of every joke yet again.
But she didn’t ask, she just said, “We should get together sometime.”
I was speechless. I didn’t know how to respond and was afraid if I did, I would stutter. All I could do was nod my head.
“Okay, well you know where I live. Stop by sometime, and don’t forget your swim suit! We have a slide now. I don’t think you’ve been over since we installed it.”
“I’ll do that. Thank you, Cindy,” I replied, thankfully without stuttering. Then I worked up the courage to ask her a question.
“Hey Cindy, do you have a quarter you can lend me? I need to print something and I didn’t think ahead, stupid me!” I stammered. “I left the house so fast I didn’t think of grabbing any change.”
“Here’s a dollar,” she interrupted my rant, “and don’t worry about it, really. You can pay me back by promising you’ll come over sometime.”
She handed me the money, and put her hand on my shoulder. That felt so strange. I blushed and looked at the ground, too timid to look her in the eye.
Meekly I said, “I will, and thank you so much, Cindy.”
After we parted, I went back to the computer and printed out the harness training information. I had enough money left to print out the volunteer application, the pet screening schedule and locations, and all the pertinent information I felt I would need to study.
The ride home was invigorating. I had so much to do and could not wait to get started!
My mom’s car was in the driveway when I got home, and I could see her pacing through the living room window. Oops, I didn’t make it home in time! Hershey was sitting in the window, tail swishing from side to side. This time he wouldn’t greet me at the door for he knew Mom was madder than a wet hen!
“Just where the heck have you been?” my mom demanded as I walked through the door. Hershey slunk out of sight and ran to my room.
“I’ve been calling your cell phone for over an hour, only to find it sitting between the couch cushions!”
“I rode my bike to the library because I needed to use a computer. I’m sorry Mom. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
My mom sighed and sat on the couch, looking sad and defeated. She had tears in her eyes and gave me a weak smile.
“I’m sorry, too, Ellen. I hate that you have to go to the library to use a computer. It was my intention to have a computer for you before school starts up again. I’ve been saving up for one. I didn’t think you’d need to use one until fall.”
I sat next to her and put my hand on her knee.
“It’s okay, Mom, really. I’m fine with not having a computer. I don’t need Facebook and all that other social media stuff.”
I explained to her what I saw on the news, and what Paws That Heal was all about. I showed her the printouts I brought home with me.
She read it over and looked at me in shock. I knew my mom was worried about what she called my “social anxiety.” A few months ago I had overheard her talking to my grandma about taking me in for therapy sessions to help overcome my insecurities, but thankfully that never transpired. I was sure money played a big role in that.
“Ellen, I am so impressed,” she said. “This would be a wonderful experience for you.”
Then she stood up, grabbed my hand, and led me to the door. She snatched her purse and her keys from the table and ushered me to the car.
“We’re going to get you that harness and leash and tomorrow you are going to start training Hershey.” She said.