In my 30-year career with the government, I visited about 125 veteran hospitals spread all across this vast nation of ours.
And if there’s one thing that I learned, it’s that our valiant ailing veterans like being shown a little attention and a little respect for the many sacrifices, and heartaches, and life altering injuries that they’ve endured – for each and every one of us.
And most of them truly love visitors of all kinds – both human and animal – and they especially love visitors like Iva.
“She trains me mostly,” Gale Castro will joke when talking about his beloved Alaskan Malamute, Iva. And then he’ll tell you about her name.
“Iva is an Eskimo word that means ‘come and cuddle with me.’ She’s such a big cuddle bug, we thought it was a perfect name for her,” Castro said.
Both Castro and his wife, Gail, are certified Paws for People trainers and bona fide animal lovers. Paws for People is a program that provides hospitalized children, seniors, and the disabled with therapeutic loving visits from an affectionate pet.
“Iva is a very special, caring, and calm dog,” said Castro. “She’s so intelligent and capable, this seemed like a good way to give back to the community.”
Castro, himself a veteran of the Korean War, thought patients at the VA hospital where he receives treatment and gets his prescriptions filled would appreciate visits from Iva.
“It started with me taking Iva along during my own trips to the doctor,” he explained. “My doctor always keeps biscuits in his desk drawer for her so going to the hospital is a treat as far as she’s concerned!”
It wasn’t long before Iva was making the rounds and bringing smiles to veterans and staff alike.
“We would go around with a social worker who would knock on patients’ doors and ask them if they’d like a visit from a friendly dog,” Castro said. “If they swung their legs over the side of the bed and invited her up, she’d jump up and lie down beside them.
“She’s so intuitive. She knew if the guys didn’t move, she shouldn’t jump on the bed and hurt their legs.”
Iva’s visits tended to have a strong emotional effect on some of the veterans.
“Some of the guys were so moved they’d cry,” Castro said. “They remembered a dog they used to have, or were just touched by how affectionately she behaved.
“They just loved her,” he said. “Everyone accepted her.”
And while her room-to-room visits were always a big hit, Iva was a star in the dayroom, too.
“We would go in the dayroom where the guys were playing bingo, and having juice and cookies, and it was funny to see how they reacted to her,” Castro added.
“Some of them protected their snacks as if they were afraid Iva was going to steal them, and other guys would call her to them, try to feed her cookies and tell her what a good dog she was,” he said with a laugh.
“But they all loved it when we were getting ready to leave, and I’d ask her if she wanted to say goodbye. She’d look at me for a moment and then stand in the doorway and sort of half bark and howl for them – they got a good laugh out of it.”
These days though, Iva and Gale aren’t making as many Paws for People visits.
“It’s a lot of work for me, and I’m getting older,” said Castro. “And even though she enjoys it, it’s hard work for Iva, too.
“Lately she’s been spending a lot of time with her best friend Teddy – a red tabby kitten the Castros adopted to replace Grizzly, a male Alaskan Malamute who was Iva’s playmate before he passed away,” Castro explained.
“We got Teddy when he was just a kitten so he thinks Iva is his mom,” he laughed, “they’re the closest of friends.
“I’m just so proud of Iva… she’s the light of my life.”
And Iva is a wonderful role model for us all.
Why not visit a veterans’ hospital this Veterans Day?
It’s the least we can do, to show these valiant men and women that we do care. And there’s probably a veterans’ hospital or nursing home right near your own home.
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