RICO'S WEEK AT THE NURSING HOME - 7-14 AUGUST 2004

. . . and ready to go again, looking for attention & affection. He finds plenty of both!

Of course, he *gives* plenty of attention & affection, too. I am pleasantly surprised at how he behaves in the nursing home: Every morning, he checks the rooms, but only wakes up my Mother. He plays with the residents, happily chasing toys they throw for him; he cleans the floor under the dining room tables; he gently takes treats from their hands, and in general, he gets everyone to like him. I must also compliment Beehive Home staff for their generosity in allowing Rico to have the run of the Home.

I take photos of several of the residents with him, have them developed (hooray for digital cameras & Walgreens' one-hour service), and give the residents their pictures. (Because of privacy concerns, I am not including them on this site.) Several of the residents smile & laugh, some of them for the first time in their stay. They call Rico by other names - Chico, Frisco - he answers to them all (especially if they have treats in their hands). They share memories of their dogs from long ago. He greets every visitor at the door, without attempting to escape . . . and every visitor exclaims, "Oh, you have a dog here! How cute he is!"

. . . and when nothing is happening, he naps.

RICO AND THE
HUMMINGBIRDS

The view from my room . . . note the orange trees & the fountain in the middle of the courtyard. Therein lies a tale . . .

Much to my delight, the hummingbirds are still in residence and, in fact, I discover that they bathe & drink in the fountain every morning. So our routine becomes: 5:00 a.m. - Rico wakes me up to go outside and do what he has to do. We then mosey to the cabana (just past this courtyard) to grab a cup of coffee (for me), and continue on to the lobby where I access my email and Rico lies at my feet on the cool marble floor to watch lobby activity, receiving pats & praise from those passing through.
Around 6:00 a.m., as the sun begins to rise, we wander back to the fountain, I pull up a chair and watch the hummingbirds cavort in the water . . . I am an avid birdwatcher, but the only times I see hummers is when I am in Yuma (and once, hundreds of them in Honduras on a special "Hummingbird Farm").
Rico waits patiently, unaware that his bandana is the brightest thing in the courtyard, and some of the hummers have designs upon it (this bandana is from Our Parrothead Wedding in May, at which Cari & Rico were Ring Bearers. When Cyberfriend Mary D'Aubin made the bandanas for us, little did she know that one of them would return to Arizona and that her writing Rico's name on his would be such a help at the Nursing Home).
Suddenly, several hummers flit around Rico's head, checking to see if the flowers on his bandana are real. Luckily, he doesn't snap at them, and they realize there's no chance of nectar there. Soon after, the sprinklers pop up and Rico attacks one so fiercely that his back legs fly up in the aire . . . of course, I have no camera with me at that moment. He begins my every day with laughter, much-needed during this week.
Another time, he investigated the fountain and jumped in . . . luckily, the paper I signed said NOTHING about dogs not being allowed in the fountain, just the pool & cabana, so I let him play to his heart's content. This was repeated several times, although the water was not deep enough for him to play "submarine", as he does in his plastic kiddie pool at home.

RICO AND THE HUMMINGBIRDS
The view from my room . . . note the orange trees & the fountain in the middle of the courtyard. Therein lies a tale . . . Much to my delight, the hummingbirds are still in residence and, in fact, I discover that they bathe & drink in the fountain every morning. So our routine becomes: 5:00 a.m. - Rico wakes me up to go outside and do what he has to do. We then mosey to the cabana (just past this courtyard) to grab a cup of coffee (for me), and continue on to the lobby where I access my email and Rico lies at my feet on the cool marble floor to watch lobby activity, receiving pats & praise from those passing through. Around 6:00 a.m., as the sun begins to rise, we wander back to the fountain, I pull up a chair and watch the hummingbirds cavort in the water . . . I am an avid birdwatcher, but the only times I see hummers is when I am in Yuma (and once, hundreds of them in Honduras on a special "Hummingbird Farm"). Rico waits patiently, unaware that his bandana is the brightest thing in the courtyard, and some of the hummers have designs upon it (this bandana is from Our Parrothead Wedding in May, at which Cari & Rico were Ring Bearers. When Cyberfriend Mary D'Aubin made the bandanas for us, little did she know that one of them would return to Arizona and that her writing Rico's name on his would be such a help at the Nursing Home). Suddenly, several hummers flit around Rico's head, checking to see if the flowers on his bandana are real. Luckily, he doesn't snap at them, and they realize there's no chance of nectar there. Soon after, the sprinklers pop up and Rico attacks one so fiercely that his back legs fly up in the aire . . . of course, I have no camera with me at that moment. He begins my every day with laughter, much-needed during this week. Another time, he investigated the fountain and jumped in . . . luckily, the paper I signed said NOTHING about dogs not being allowed in the fountain, just the pool & cabana, so I let him play to his heart's content. This was repeated several times, although the water was not deep enough for him to play "submarine", as he does in his plastic kiddie pool at home.

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CONTINUE WITH RICO'S WEEK AT THE NURSING HOME HERE

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RICO AND THE HUMMINGBIRDS

RICO AND THE
HUMMINGBIRDS