Where the Trail Grows Faint: A Year in the Life of a Therapy Dog Team

by Lynne Hugo

"This is Hannah," Lynne Hugo introduces her chocolate Labrador retriever to an aged woman in a wheelchair at the Golden View Nursing Home. "Would you like to pat her?"

 

"I don't know," she responds warily. "Dogs are complicated."

 

So, of course, is life, especially as the years accumulate and the body declines. In fact, the most painful complications are those that Hugo hopes to ease with Hannah, her exuberant therapy dog. What Hugo receives in return, unexpectedly, is an outpouring of stories as the residents respond to Hannah’s antics and affection. As Hugo’s involvement deepens, she begins to see her own life and her care for her elderly parents in a new perspective. Interweaving the elders’ tales—of old loves and ancient dreams, abandonment and loneliness, and the struggle for dignity—with her own family’s story, she creates a richly textured collective portrait of the often-hidden world of the aged. At the same time, she crafts an eloquent meditation on the fundamental human need to nurture and remain connected to other people, to animals, and to the natural world.

Genres: Animals, Dogs, Nonfiction

143 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Lynne Hugo is an American author whose roots are in the northeast. A National Endowment For The Arts Fellowship recipient, she has also received repeat individual artists grants from the Ohio Arts Council and the Kentucky Foundation for Women. Her publications include eight novels, one volume of creative non-fiction, two books of poetry and a children’s book. She lives with her husband, a former Vice President for Academic Affairs of a liberal arts college and now a professional photographer, in the Midwest. They have two grown children, three grandchildren, and a yellow Labrador retriever.

Ms. Hugo has taught creative writing to hundreds of schoolchildren through the Ohio Arts Council’s renowned Arts in Education program. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Connecticut College, and a Master’s from Miami University.

When an editor asked her to describe herself as a writer, she responded:

“I write in black Wal-Mart capri sweatpants. They don’t start out as capris, but I routinely shrink them in the drier by accident. And I always buy black because it doesn’t show where I’ve wiped the chocolate off my hands. Now that my son and daughter are grown, my previous high grade of ‘below average’ in Domestic Achievement has dropped somewhat. But I’m less guilty about it now. I lose myself in crafting language by a window with birdfeeders hanging in the branches of a Chinese elm towering over the house. When I come up for air, I hike by the ponds and along the river in a nearby forest with my beloved Lab. My husband, with whom I planted that elm as a bare root sapling, joins us when he can.”

Reviews

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and insightful look at life and loss for those confined to nursing homes. Hugo nearly lost this reader when she detailed how her dog almost drowned in the river. Her panicked rescue of Hannah enabled me to keep reading even though the rambunctious dog was allowed to continue romping near the river off leash. Hugo did a good job drawing a parallel between the stories told by residents of the nursing home and her own parents' looming loss of independence. This little book exudes compassion and tenderness.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not as i expected, in some ways it was rather strange as I thought it would be an book full of tales of how the PAT dogs change peoples lives and how the training is carried out. It was instead a rather thought invoking book, it brings home the harsh realities of living with old age, when people can't cope alone anymore, nowadays families are scattered, and who is there to cope with ageing parents? The author has this problem to contend with while taking her dog to the local old peoples home, as she had ageing parents who were finding it hard to cope but with no family near, and being so proud they would not admit that it was hard to carry on. There were no lovable characters in this book but the realities of people put in a home confused and lonely, yes the dog did play a part and hopefully did cheer people up and maybe make a difference. It did make you think why can't people take their pets ,and treasures when they go into a home surely it must be better mentally for them.I am sure there are some homes where this is allowed ( it boils down to finance and other rules and regulations obviously) but the book was depressing reading, although i was envious of the author having such great trails to take her dog on such walks, truly wilderness -( the book was set in the USA ) and enjoyed her descriptions and adventures outdoors !

[Emily Kemme · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a Herculean task author Lynne Hugo and her therapy dog, Hannah, took on, being the cheerleaders for the elderly and disabled. I hope she continues to push for better lives for those who have no choice but to become residents in these sorts of facilities. I also hope she can encourage development of the Eden-type facilities. What a wonderful idea. People of any age need to feel useful; once that is taken away from them, there is little left to live for, and yet life can still be tenacious, even if it isn’t the most desirable lifestyle. At rock bottom, the problem is money.

I enjoyed her therapeutic romps through the beautiful Ohio woods. Her descriptions of nature are lyrical.

[Lynne]

Highly recommended for anyone have a relative in a nursing home or is just a dog lover. The author works with her therapy dog, Hannah, a Labrador retriever. An eye-opener about what's wrong in nursing homes, what could be easily corrected, what you can do as a family member. Hannah is hilarious, too. Carefully researched, though much of this reads like a novel.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent but very depressing book. The descriptions of nursing home patients and the author's parents is heartbreaking. It brings out many excellent points on how nursing homes could be improved, but still ends on a very sad note.

[Kim Derego · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was great both for the personal story of a remarkable therapy dog team but also for the larger picture it is able to draw about eldercare in America today. Thought provoking and touching.