Last week Ziggy and I resumed our visits with a couple of my clients who live in their own homes. As we all know Covid had restricted these visits and it was a welcome change after several months.

Ziggy as you may recall is an ambassador dog with CNIB and when not on official duty he joins me in visiting my clients.  We call Ziggy the ‘smile maker’ because he does just thought- brings a smile to everyone’s face.  My older clients love him and I see expressions of joy and love that they may not otherwise experience.

This particular client is another of the lucky ones- who can afford to remain at home with 24 hour care. She lives with her caregivers in a large home yet she really only lives in her family room.

She has a favorite chair (like so many of us) that faces outside to her backyard. In this backyard are at least three bird feeders and a squirrel feeder. The daily activity that she enjoys all year long, is priceless.  She is entertained and captivated watching the squirrels shimmy up the pole, hang upside down and eat the peanuts.  She has her favorite birds that enjoy visiting and she has also seen bunnies, chipmunks and a fox.   The menagerie of visiting animals and the singing of the birds is worth everything to her.   She truly is one of the lucky ones. We often take nature for granted yet for this lady, there can be no greater gift….