November 9, 2022
Back in March, we adopted a dog from Southside Animal Shelter. He seems to be a Jack Russell Terrier mix and we named him Simon. He has many of the same traits as our previous dog, Stuart.
Simon and I bonded quickly. He became a lap dog on his first day at our house. He only sat on my lap. We became very close within a few days. He enjoyed playing with Lyn and her providing him with tasty treats. He became a member of our family very quickly.
During the first few days of September, I took a very bad fall outside and was loaded up for several weeks. Simon leaped into action as a professional canine nurse. He was at my side as I tried to slowly move about. He was either on my lap or sitting beside me most of the day. It was so special to see how much he stayed with me.
Simon and I are working to become a therapy team. My fall and recovery has put us a bit behind. I hope that we might be able to get started again soon. Hopefully we can begin stopping into the nursing homes and schools in the next couple of weeks. We really miss our friends in those facilities.
A couple of weeks ago, Lyn started having lower back and and hip pain that was hurting very bad. I asked her and a couple of her friends what might have caused these back and hip problems. One of her friends explained to me that she must have taken a bad fall while running track and jumping over high hurdles.
I was told a couple of other crazy stories about her back and hip, but I have a feeling that it is probably a result of too much lifting and carrying heavy boxes at the facility where she volunteers each week.
After her visit to the doctor, she was given some medicine and told to stay off of her feet. As soon as that happened and she started sitting in her favorite chair in our sunroom, Simon started sitting in that chair with her. I have never seen him in that chair with her. Canine nursing duty was once again happening in our house.
Lyn has been having good days and some not so good days. I’m still dealing with those types of days also. Simon is spending quality time with both of us. He might sit with me for awhile and then on his own move over and spend some time with Lyn. It has been amazing to watch him.
He also has an internal clock. He enjoys going into the bedroom when I do at night. I am still operating on the go to sleep and wake up schedule that I used during my days driving a school bus for Beech Grove City Schools. Simon adopted that schedule.
During my recovery time, I have sometimes moved to my recliner chair in the middle of the night. The lower back pain wasn’t so bad using the chair. Simon always follows me into the sunroom and burrows under his blanket in his favorite couch. On his own, he jumps down off of the couch as our exact getting up in the morning time. He just knows.
Last Sunday morning was the first morning of no Daylight Saving Time. We had moved into the sunroom in the middle of the night. I was very curious as to what time Simon would want to get things going. He jumped down and we got up and started our day exactly one hour later on the clock than the day before. We had gone to bed using the new time also. I was very impressed with his internal clock.
Hopefully we will become a therapy team soon. He has also been practicing his writing skills. He has been reading several of Stuart’s newspaper columns. He really has enjoyed them and I see him practicing quite often. He is getting ready.
Shonk is a 1960 graduate of Southport High School, a ’63 grad of Indiana Central College (now the University of Indianapolis) and a retired bus driver from Beech Grove Schools. He can be reached through email at fdshonk@aol.com.