Resident Corner
My Dog Chico Written by C.E. on Unit 11-2
My heart swells whenever Junior, the pet therapy dog, comes into the dayroom. He goes around to everyone, demanding head pats and attention. What a friendly little guy. My love for dogs made me start wishing I had one. Or still had one. I remember one time when a friend came to visit. I asked him if he knew how I could get a dog. “Yes,” he said, “every night on my way to work, I see a dog with four pups on the street. Do you want me to bring you one?” I said yes. The next night, he came and I saw him holding his jacket in a closed position. “What do you have there?” I asked, and then he opened it up and I saw a beautiful brown puppy. I named her Chico. She cried all night for three nights, but after three nights, it was all right. She got accustomed. On the fourth day, a friend came to my home for breakfast. He came from another town to go to work. Chico followed him out when he was leaving, but I did not see her leave. Thirty minutes later, I saw him coming around. I wondered ‘why he came back’ until I saw Chico in his arms. She had followed him to work. It was a good thing that he had seen her. I had to be very careful with her.
buy bread but was very far away, so she touched Chico and told her to stop. She closed her eyes and turned her head with so much attitude. I was so surprised at Chico. This, indeed, was a rude cross-eye. I never thought a dog would be so rude. I also wanted to see if she would bite me, so I put my finger in her mouth one day. She watched me as if she was asking, “Are you crazy?” Then, taking her paw, she took my finger out of her mouth. I laughed and patted her on her head. After some time, she fell sick. My friend took her to the vet but said it was too late. She lived for a few days and eventually died. I cried and cried. My dear Chico, I miss you very much. You brought me so much joy. May you rest in doggy peace. properly. For example, when driving a car, you would use visual-special reasoning to switch lanes by measuring distance with your eyes. Puzzles, along with many other cognitive-based games, have reduced the development of dementia in elderly patients by up to 10%. Puzzles aid in short- term memory because the individual needs to memorize colors, shapes, and patterns. Puzzles are a considerable resource for cognitive health improvement, especially for older adults. If you want a pastime with plenty of positive benefits, take a page from C.S.’s book and work on a puzzle!
Chico shared joy with everyone, anytime and anywhere. She was lively, active, and always looked for a good time. Going to the river to bathe was fun as the children would send a stick for Chico to swim toward to push it up repeatedly. They enjoyed themselves, especially Chico. In another instance, my aunt started playing music while her daughter picked up Chico to dance. When the music stopped and she put Chico down, Chico would start barking until the music started and she was picked up to dance again. Not only was she easygoing, but Chico had some sass to her. I had a little shop. I was in my yard when the shop was closed one Sunday afternoon. Chico started barking, so I peeped out the window to see what was happening. A lady was coming to
C.S. Puzzles Written by C.S. on Unit 11-6
C.S., 11-6 Resident, spends hours solving puzzles. With a calming playlist in the background, C.S. uses his free time to solve puzzles, glue them to boards, and decorate the borders. There are many benefits to solving puzzles. They are an excellent outlet for relieving stress and improving hand-eye coordination, memory, mood, problem-solving, and concentration. Studies report doing a daily puzzle improves visual-spatial reasoning, which
allows people to tell where an object is located and use their judgment to space it
RESIDENT REFLECTIONS • 2024, ISSUE 1 • PAGE 9 Bergen New Bridge Medical Center • 230 East Ridgewood Avenue • Paramus, NJ 07652 • NewBridgeHealth.org
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