EXAMPLE
Kindness Matters:
Canine Compassion
Furry volunteer offers comfort to humans in need
BY ANGIE FENTON | PHOTOS COURTESY LORI JONES
also to our furry friends. If so, I’d like to tell you
about my dog, Rudy, who is the furry definition
of kindness.
About 6 and a half years ago, Rudy and I went
through the training to be a Pet Therapy team. Since
then, he — and I, but I am just the chauffeur, so
I don’t count — has been visiting a local nursing
home and University of Louisville Hospital on a
weekly basis.
We visit dementia patients, oncology patients,
lock-down psychiatric patients and so many
more. He enters a room on his own volition, puts
his paws on the side of the bed so he can look
directly at the person lying down in the eye or
sidles up to their wheelchair, and waits for them
to notice him. The reaction of the patient/resident
is heart-warming.
If the hospital patient has a dog at home, they
pet Rudy and tell him how they miss their dog(s).
A NICU nurse bent down, hugged Rudy and
told him how she had lost a patient and baby in
delivery earlier in the day. Rudy licked her tears
as she vented to him.
In the last issue, I share this verbatim in my
editor’s letter: And, sometimes they can affect others far more
than we ever imagined.
For more than two years, I’ve repeated these
same words to my now-3-year-old daughter every
morning on the way to preschool: “Olive: You are
smart. You are kind. You are important. You are
beautiful inside and out. Everyone matters. Treat
people with kindness.” Olive, my daughter, is old enough that she now
speaks our daily affirmation without prompting.
She recently said it in the grocery store and brought
a fellow shopper nearly to tears. As rewarding as
it was to see the fruits of my labor, my heart hurt:
Shouldn’t kindness and the acknowledgment
of its power be the exception and not the rule?
Listening to a toddler as she looks at a complete
stranger and says with complete confidence,
“You are kind, you are smart, you are beautiful,”
should evoke a smile, not tears — at least not tears
of despair. But, the woman at Kroger explained
her reaction: “You just don’t see this anymore.”
It’s my adaptation of a scene in the novel-turned-
movie, “The Help,” but it’s also a more poignant
version of what I’ve told myself for decades. And
depending upon where I’m at in life, some phrases
resonate more than others.
Lately, this one means the most:
“Everyone matters. Treat people with kindness.”
Despite the constant barrage of social media
and news outlets asserting the contrary, I believe
most of us care about our neighbors and complete
strangers and are willing to make people feel like
they matter by inserting small acts of kindness
into our everyday lives – holding a door, letting
someone slide in ahead of us in traffic, simply
saying, “Thank you” or “I’m sorry,” or offering
a helping hand. These minor moments matter.
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EXTOL : JUNE/JULY 2019
Maybe she doesn’t – and I pray she sees more
– but I do, and I know many of you do, too.
Then, I requested to hear from readers of Extol,
asking that interested participants submit acts of
kindness you’ve witnessed or played a role in.
Lori Jones responded with the following message
and photos:
I am hoping that your Kindness Challenge
doesn’t just relate to the two-legged variety, but
An employee at the nursing home was in tears
when Rudy put his head on a dementia patient’s
lap and patiently waited for her to pet him, which
she did. Apparently, it was the first time since she
had arrived weeks before that she had engaged
whatsoever in her surroundings.
When Rudy puts on his Red Cross vest, he
becomes the kindest being in the world (so long
as a squirrel doesn’t cross his path). He doesn’t
have a voice of his own, so I would like to speak
for him when I say that he perfectly embodies
your daughter Olive’s mantra, “Everyone matters.
Treat people with kindness.” Rudy expects nothing
in return except for a few ear-rubs or booty-
scratches, and he leaves everyone he meets at
work in a better place than they were before he
came into their day.
Sincerely,
Lori Jones (Rudy’s mom)
So, here’s my challenge again: Send me your
accounts of acts of kindness – yours or others. Big and
small. They matter. Email me at angie@extolmag.
com or find me by searching @angiefenton2 on
Facebook. Let’s keep the kindness going, and the
Extol Team will continue working to let others
know and spread the good – kind – news.