My husband and I are the “parents” of a very happy and energetic golden retriever named Kaija. She’s the apple of our eye and goes with us almost everywhere. Our car windows have permanent smudges on them because she travels with us so much. We have come to believe that we have been blessed to be her caretakers for the time she spends on Earth, bringing happiness and smiles to people from around the world. I know--this all sounds rather ambitious but read on and perhaps you’ll better understand what we mean.
Goldens have a reputation for their gentle nature but sometimes they can appear a bit indifferent to people walking by on the street. Kaija, on the other hand, has a unique and special desire to try to bond with almost every person she meets. She absolutely thrives on human interaction. She has a sweet disposition and an incredible sixth sense to detect the needs of the person she’s meeting.
Perhaps the best way to understand Kaija’s gift is to observe her during the annual Pittsburgh Marathon. We live on one of the main streets for the race. Each year we sit with Kaija at the end of our driveway, allowing her to greet the hundreds of people walking by as they themselves are watching the marathon. We don’t get much opportunity to sit during the race, Kaija pulls us left then right then left--you get the idea. Each person receives the same warm and enthusiastic greeting. People who are especially kind will be treated to the extraordinary opportunity of being asked to rub her tummy as she rolls over onto her side for them
But Kaija’s favorite is greeting babies in strollers. She always cautiously approaches the strollers as gentle as a lamb. She then looks up to the baby’s parents, awaiting permission to greet the baby. Once she receives an o.k., Kaija nuzzles the faces of the babies and if they’re barefoot, she makes a special point of giving their feet a few kisses. The babies usually giggle with glee and then try to reach out to pet her.
One favorite memory was when we had a neighbor who developed Lou Gehrig’s disease. Kaija was accustomed to walking past this family’s house, especially making a point of greeting their children. But suddenly one summer the husband became confined to a wheelchair. He would sit outside on their porch in the sunshine. Sometimes we would cross paths as the family was taking him in or out of their minivan. But each time, Kaija would make a point of running over to greet him, even up onto their porch. We were sometimes concerned because Kaija is so rambunctious and her energy can be too much for some. But Kaija would immediately calm down, approach the man gently, and make a point of placing her head under his hand so he could pet her. Each time she did this, the man smiled from side to side and would make attempts to stroke her head as best he could. We always wondered how could she know how to treat children one way, senior citizens another way, and this man in an even more special way. We didn’t teach Kaija any of this.
We finally started to realize that we have been blessed with a therapy dog of sorts. We remembered when my husband attended graduate school in New England. A professor was known for bringing two golden retrievers into class, allowing them to roam freely. The goldens were wonderful at helping put students at ease and bring laughter to the classroom, even though mid-terms or finals were approaching. The whole experience was therapeutic for both the students and the dogs. So we thought we’d experiment and see if Kaija would have a similar effect in library school.
You see, I have been teaching a library science course at Pitt for three semesters a year since 1997. I noticed that at a certain time each semester, students would begin to get edgy and look exhausted as their courses became increasingly overwhelming. I especially knew I needed help when I was unable to get students to laugh at my jokes--okay, I may not be a great comedian but I usually would get at least a few smiles. So I realized it was time to take some drastic action by bringing Kaija to class. What began as an experiment has now evolved into a tradition. As a result, I’ve developed a reputation for offering a very popular class--not because of the course topics or my teaching ability. But because once a month students in my course know that they get to spend time with a wonderful golden retriever!
Every semester I make a point of announcing our “special” visitor, making sure to ask if any people are allergic or fearful of dogs. After all, the goal is to have Kaija spread around some unconditional love and attention on the students but not to impose herself on anyone. I warn them about her precocious nature, her boundless energy, and her frequent drooling. But most importantly, I warn them that she has a built-in radar to seek out those people who don’t care much for dogs. She then proceeds to sit at their feet for most of the lecture, looking up at them with her big, brown eyes and laying her head on their laps, waiting for attention.
Of course, you realize that when Kaija attends class, all attention is focused on her! If I were to quiz students on my lecture topic, they’re usually clueless afterwards. They’ve had way too much fun playing with Kaija, feeding Kaija, petting Kaija or watching her dig up staples from the carpet and then smoosh them between her teeth (no, she doesn’t eat the staples). So for these lectures, I have to make a special point of bringing lots of handouts.
Kaija has helped students laugh amidst the stress of classes. She has shown many a sad or overwhelmed student the joys of life again with her enduring and endless smiles and kisses. She has comforted students who have lost a loved one, showering them with kisses and snuggling close when they need some love themselves. She has even helped a woman with a deep-seated fear of dogs from her childhood (after being bitten) overcome her fears by the end of the semester. Kaija’s visits have become so popular that students ask if they can bring their spouses or children to meet her. I even have former students ask to return for the lectures when Kaija has a planned visit. She has definitely become a library school therapy dog.
Recently a student encouraged me to start a fan club for Kaija. Why? Well, I have to admit that when I see former students, the first words out of their mouths is not “Hi Missy! How are you?” But instead, “How’s Kaija?” Each morning she loves to visit the local bus stop where students wait for the school bus. She loves the children but especially adores the crossing guard, May, who has placed a picture of Kaija on her mantel. So I think you can see the idea of a fan club may be a good one!
Kaija takes great delight in trying to get her “parents” into awkward situations on her daily walks. When she isn’t in library school, she likes to accost customers at a local coffeehouse, including a prominent public official. You see, we live in Highland Park near a wonderful shop with a sidewalk cafe and tables. Kaija’s favorite daily walk is past this coffeehouse, guaranteeing that most customers will pet her as she walks by so that she receives her daily quota of attention. Of course, I always have to warn customers to hold onto their napkins. She knows that all food on the tables is off-limits but any kind of paper for a golden retriever is beyond resistance. Goldens have one goal—to tear up and sometimes eat napkins, paper towels, kleenex, etc. So the big challenge on these walks is to prevent Kaija from sneaking up on unsuspecting customers as they’re petting her, not expecting her to snatch their napkins right off their laps!
But Kaija’s most famous mischief was during some recent primaries in Pittsburgh We had taken our usual walk past the coffeehouse, unaware that a special event was about to take place. Many people were outside the store chatting away, music was playing in the background. Suddenly Kaija stopped in the midst of the crowd and began to sniff the back of the legs of a man having a conversation with someone. I was horrified to discover that the man was Pittsburgh’s Mayor! Fortunately he was too busy talking to notice he was being accosted from behind.
I desperately pulled Kaija away from the mayor, heading towards home. We crossed paths with a smiling woman who stopped to pet Kaija. We exchanged stories about each other’s dogs and talked about what wonderful pets they can be. Then I confessed to the woman what mischief my dog had just caused at the coffeehouse. The woman laughed and responded, “Oh, not too worry. That’s my husband and he’s used to being sniffed by our 5 dogs!” Once again, Kaija had helped me step into a wonderful mess, this time with the mayor’s wife!!!
Kaija’s sweet and upbeat nature is especially hard to believe when you learn that she has faced many health problems in her short life. We’ve occasionally found some cysts and even benign tumors—-one of them on her head had to be removed making her look like Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie until her hair grew back in!
But in the past year Kaija has faced a very challenging and difficult time. Last fall, a malignant tumor in her front leg returned, this time more aggressively. Over 3 months, Kaija had to undergo two operations—the first to remove the tumor and the second to graft skin from her side onto the tumor site since there was no longer adequate skin to cover the wound. She had to endure bandage changes about every 3 days over that time, becoming fast friends with her surgeon and assistants.
But the skilled surgeon was unable to completely remove all traces of the malignant cells. He recommended we take aggressive preventive measures to eradicate anymore traces, taking Kaija for radiation treatments up to Cleveland (the nearest facility offering such therapy for animals). So for the entire month of December, Kaija had to stay up at Cleveland, even through the Christmas holiday. It was a very, very tough month for us being away from her. So we helped both Kaija and ourselves by visiting her every weekend up in Cleveland during the month. Kaija has now been back to Cleveland for her 6-month check-up and her cancer has not returned so far. If there’s no sign of it after a year from removal, the chances are pretty good that it won’t return.
Then this summer Kaija decided she wanted to pay a visit to the local animal emergency room on the July 4th holiday. Goldens love to itch and rub up against anything. In doing so, Kaija tore the ligament in the knee in her rear leg. So in August, she had to have another serious surgery—this time called a TPLO to replace her knee. We’re “supposed” to confine her for three months! Good luck with a rambunctious golden like Kaija. At least for the first month, we’ve succeeded in preventing her from using any stairs by building a ramp outside and special styrofoam stairs to climb up on the bed. She even has to use a special sling to help her walk outside.
Through it all, this adorable butterball of a dog keeps smiling, trying to run, and endlessly sharing her love and joy for life with those around her.
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March 2005 -- http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~missy/libraryschool.html Missy Harvey
Computer Science Librarian
Senior Librarian
Engineering & Science Library
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
