The moment he reached his little paw through the age
bars at the humane society, I was a goner. I wasn’t looking for another
cat – I already had two – but was just stopping by to give the animals some
attention. When the shelter volunteer, apparently knowing a sucker when
she saw one, asked if I would like to hold him, there was no longer any
doubt. He came home with me that day.
He was a gorgeous cat, a five-month-old blue-point Siamese
with eyes like blue laser beams: thus, his name. Right from the
beginning, it was obvious that Laser was an exceptional cat. He loved
everyone – the other cats, visitors to the house, even the dog who later joined
the household.
I first heard about animal-assisted therapy several months
after we adopted Laser. While most of what I heard was about dogs, it
occurred to me that Laser would be perfect for this type of work. I
signed up for the training class, and, after completing the preliminary requirements,
Laser and I passed the test to become registered Delta Society Pet Partners.
While he had always been a little lovebug at home, Laser
found his true calling when we began to go on visits. Whether it was with
sick kids at the children’s hospital, seniors with Alzheimer’s disea se, or
teens in a psychiatric unit, Laser always knew just what to do. He curled
up on laps or beside bed-bound patients and happily snuggled close. He
never tried to get up until I moved him to the next person. People often
commented that they’d never seen a cat so calm and friendly. Even people who
didn’t like cats liked him!
One young man, who had been badly burned in a fire,
smiled for the first time since his accident when Laser nestled under his lap
blanket. A little boy, tired and lethargic from terminal leukemia,
rallied to smile, hug Laser and kiss his head, and then talked endlessly about
Laser after the visits. Several geriatric patients with dementia, who
were agitated and uncommunicative prior to Laser’s appearance, calmed down and
became talkative with each other and the staff after a visit from my therapeutic
feline partner. It has been our hospice visits, though, that I consider
the most challenging and rewarding of all our Pet Partner experiences.