One lady, I'll call her Maude, with moderate Alzheimer's, kept saying how much she loved dogs. As Billy and I sat with her, she grabbed the wrist loop of his leash and held it like it was the most precious thing in the world. I, of course, still had a two-hand hold on his leash and watched her as she caressed the leash. Billy started laying some Billy-Love on the person in the next chair and Maude kept caressing his leash, smiling and happy. It was very tender, indeed. We waited until it was time for the residents to go to their lunch so getting the loop back was no trouble.
We also met a special request person. He sees to be in pretty advanced Alzheimer's and is not verbal but tried like mad to speak. He did respond to Billy's touch, and even got some hand-holding in. I generally try to get the non-verbal to feel his ears since they're soft and curly. We got a response so it's a good thing for a first visit. We said that his wife asked us to come and visit. We spent about 15 minutes with him and then he started to doze off, so we left and told him that we'd see him next week. – Mary Ellen Dunn and Billy – Foulk Manor South – March 2011