more frogs and dogs and bears and chickens (but really just frogs & dogs)

This is Henson.

Nov. 2010 (He has since had a haircut.)

Henson is our lovable, albeit slightly neurotic, cairn terrier mix.

Don't you just love his ears?

Kyle and I adopted him from an animal shelter in November. I had literally been begging asking him for a dog for close to a year. Our landlords were (thankfully) on board with the whole dog thing, so it was just a matter of convincing my cat-loving fiance.   

For the better part of six months, I found a way to cleverly sneak my dog-lust into daily conversations. All of my subtle blatant, hints must have worked. For my birthday in October, Kyle gave me a box with a dog collar in it and a card that said "woof." After a few weeks of searching, we found our match. Our Henson.

Oh, and he's named after this guy. Because nothing warms my heart like a Muppet...except maybe a dog.

source

I work as an administrative assistant at an assisted living/retirement community. Henson gets to come to work with me every day, which is pretty awesome.

He basically runs the joint.

Pardon the messy desk. Yikes.

When I'm working in the office, he just sleeps at my feet and keeps me company. (And protects me from the "dangerous" Office Depot delivery guy.)He loves to visit with the residents. Loves it. And they love him. He basks in the glow of their undivided attention, and they light up like a firefly whenever he's around.

Old people are Henson's calling. He isn't skitish around wheelchairs, or bulky medical equipment like O2 tanks and Hoyer lifts. He has no concept of illness or disability. Henson just loves these people, who are too often cast aside or forgotten by a society fixated on youth and beauty.

There is a woman who lives in our community who is in the early stages of Alzheimer's. She often has difficulty remembering her name, the day of the week, and that her husband passed away 20 years ago. So many details of her life are in a dementia-induced fog; but she remembers Henson. She knows how old he is and on good days, remembers his name. If that isn't amazing, I don't know what is.

Unconditional love, that's what it's all about, I'm telling you...

Oh, and he can dance, which is also pretty cool.

This weekend, I'm hoping to teach him how to play "Rainbow Connection" on banjo. Stay tuned.