152 days ago by NadiaWebber | 144 views | 10 barks

Banjo saves the day

 I am going to start this story by saying that a little fat dog seems to calm even the most savage soul.

 I started out working with Evelyn about 2 weeks ago. She is 96 years old woman, and she believes she needs no help from anyone. let alone a much younger girl.

 Evelyn worked at the town hall of Exeter for 63 years, a home grown and very able woman. Evelyn is married to Dan, a 95 year old man,who is also a home grown Exeter man.

 I arrive on Tuesday morning, and my welcome was much less than warm. Evelyn threatened me, tried to hit me, and locked me out of her house. I called the company I worked for and they told me that Evelyn was cranky and had dimensia, this I already knew. They then told me that they kept a spare key on the porch, as Evelyn hated the caregivers, and has done this numerous times before. So I let myself back in, luckily, Evelyn thought it was a different day.

 Dan the husband is deaf but is more kind to me. He has a garden in the back yard. He also keeps this have a heart trap in the garden to catch vermin etc. When somthing is caught, I am told to call the Exeter dog catcher to release the critter in another area. If it takes the dog catcher too long to arrive, I am instructed to let the critter out myself. This day however, there was a skunk in that trap. Now I am told to NEVER argue with Dan, he is the man of the house and just do as he says. This is echoing through my head as he is screaming at me to," LET THAT POOR HEDGEHOG OUT OF THAT TRAP!!!" I tell Dan, "Dan, I think that is a skunk, I will call the dog catcher." Dan looks at me angrily and yells. " DO YOU THINK I AM A DAMN FOOL??!!" " YOU ARE BEING CRUEL BY KEEPING IT IN THAT TRAP, THE DOGCATCHER ALWAYS TAKES TOO LONG!!!!" At this point Evelyn is getting aggravated as well, orbiting all around me shaking her fists. I take a deep breath, and try to figure out what to do. Dan locks himself in the bathroom mad that I am defying him, leaving me alone with Evelyn.

 Evelyn tells me she is going to call the police, why am I in HER house?? And to just leave her and her husband alone. My shift ended and I went home. I cried on the way home, as I am only human, and now I had to see these mean people 4 times a week for 7 hour increments. 

 I tell my husband about my day and how it was causing me so much anxiety to see this couple again. I mean, part of me loved them...95 and 96 years old! Married and still sleep in the same bed!! They were awesome! But just hated the fact they were losing thier independence etc.My husband  told me to just wait till my next shift with them, see how it went, and if it was really bad to ask the company to have another caregiver take my shifts.

 My next shift with them is tomorrow, and all weekend I have been stressing about it. So today I went to visit them, but I brought with me a secret weapon. My Banjo Bee...

 I walked into the front door and Evelyn looked at me and grimaced. Then she saw my lil meatball in my hands and her face lit up! She and Dan petted Banjo and talked to him. I let him visit for about a half an hour, answering questions about him. I was also getting along WONDERFULLY  with Evelyn. She was being really nice to me. It's as thought my Banjo helped me to be more well recieved by her.

 I said bye to Evelyn and that I'd see her tomorrow. She petted Banjo and thanked me for coming by with him. She also told me she loved dogs, always had them growing up, and could I bring him back again tomorrow?

 Banjo alleviated my stress about tomorrow and helped bridge a 65 year year old gap between two women.

 Everyone, hold your pets...Hug and kiss them they will repay you back in the most selfless and unselfish ways.

-Nadia