RETRIEVER IN RESIDENCE
Meet Sally, the newest old dog at The Village at Germantown.
If the weather, her aching joints and timing around her afternoon nap permitted, a Golden Retriever by the name of Lady would happily saunter outside to greet visitors at The Village at Germantown senior center.
Her graying face would welcome guests at their vehicles and escort them into the building, and if she hadn’t wandered back into the office for that nap, she was prone to do so on the way out, as well.
Her successor is still learning and is more prone to bolt out the front door with excitement over a visitor, a squirrel, a shadow — she’s not picky.
Lady died in February after four years as the resident Golden Retriever. Soon after, administrators received a call from the Memphis Area Golden Retriever Rescue about a dog named Sally.
Sally was 8 years old, had been neglected in one home and in another had been too much work for a family with two young children in the Memphis area. They wanted to know if The Village was ready to adopt its next golden.
“She’s got 251 parents here,” Village executive assistant Becky Chunn said. That’s 250 residents, plus herself, the self-proclaimed “dog mom.”
Sally is the fourth Golden Retriever to be the res-
ident dog at the Village, which has had a golden since the Germantown facility opened almost 10 years ago, executive director Ron Rukstad said. They take in one older dog at a time, allowing them to live out their final years in a good home with plenty of attention. And the residents benefit as well.
With all the loss and hardships typical of the later stages of life, “it’s just an uplifting thing” to have a friendly, furry face around, Rukstad said.
“Our residents come down and ask, ‘Where’s Sally?’” Chunn said.
If Sally’s not on a walk — the residents can trade off taking her for walks every day — she’s likely in the office, or somewhere on campus on a short leash.
“Other dogs have had the run of the village,” Chunn said. “Sally’s still in training.”
She’s learning her surroundings quickly. She knows the delivery truck drivers bring treats. She knows residents and their grandchildren bring treats. And if food is left on a counter, it’s as good as a treat.
“We can’t even have it up on the counter up high,” Chunn said.
Even with her thin face — to go with her long ears and light hair that comes to a point in the middle of her head to form the perfect doggy Mohawk — it’s clear Sally is taking the “fat and happy” approach to her new home.
But if there’s one thing that calms her — second only to the thunder shirt she wears during storms — it’s a gentle pat from a resident. They stop in the hallways to pet her and occasionally volunteer to brush her.
Chunn said the residents have loved having a village dog, who is also usually a senior citizen. They even raised money among themselves to pay for cancer surgery for Lady before she died in February. While it was not successful in helping the disease, Chunn said, the residents wanted to make her as comfortable as possible.
While waiting for an appointment in the on-site clinic last week, resident Louise Mann passed the time with a quick snuggle with Sally. Mann said she has her own two dogs, miniature Dachshunds, as residents are allowed to bring pets with them when they move in.
“For the residents who don’t have a dog,” she said, “it’s really good for them to love on it.”