by Sr. Elizabeth Ann Weiler, ASC
Shy and nervous around all the strangers, Regina was not happy when she came to Benedictine Living Community late last January. Moving from Michigan to Illinois with her housemate was not her idea at all.
So, it was no surprise to Karen that Regina did not want to walk outside and never on a sidewalk or that she did not like it when Karen wanted her to do something outside her own apartment here. Her stubbornness in itself was not new.
It can be a good thing, you know. You might even say it was in her nature. And it meant that Karen, faced with this obstinacy, would pick Regina up and carry her – even though she is able-bodied with strong legs.
Lest you get the wrong idea, please understand that Regina – affectionately known and generally called Reggie — is a long-haired dachshund who is used to expressing her needs. To make a point, when she doesn’t want to do something, she “puts her brakes on” by extending her front legs. She just wants to be her own dog, as Karen puts it.
Well, like the rest of us who live here, she has begun to adjust and make some changes in the past eight months. As she has met various dog-friendly residents, her ordinary love of people began to show itself more and more.
On October 22, Reggie, carried by Karen to the skilled care unit, showed her more affectionate side. First, she cuddled next to Sr. Leona Luechtefeld on her bed, then in the arms of Sr. Elizabeth Kolmer and Sr. Mary Alan Wurth. She didn’t want to leave them, though she didn’t need her brakes to show that.
Good news — she already has an invitation to go back there where she will find even more people who are happy to see her be her own dog.
