Jake brings his calm way of being, green eyes and friendly
accepting nature to many sad, hurting and lonely people, children as well as
adults. Some have escaped abuse, some are facing illness that has changed their
lives forever, some have forgotten what it was like to feel a soft touch from
pets they said good-by to long ago.
Earlier this year he brought comfort to Linda, a woman who
in her vibrant years suffered a stroke. One result was she became almost
totally blind. She couldn’t find her way around places that had been familiar
to her much of her life. So Linda came to The Samaritan House Fort Collins
Village for rehabilitation. From being an active member of her community she
struggled everyday to interact, make her needs known, communicate, and learn
what she needed so she could go home.
One of the things she missed was the comfort of her cats,
Felix and Tango. Their antics amused her and brought warm furry love to her
every day. Linda’s days at Good Samaritan were long. Things moved slowly. Her
therapists had an idea. They knew about a cat named Jake who came to visit at
Good Samaritan regularly and suggested he come and visit Linda.
She knew the day Jake came to see her it would be a good
day. It was as if he knew of all the heartbroken places she had inside. He
moved slowly to rub against her legs then snuggled next to her. He touched her
cheek with his nose. Her words were muffled as she buried her face in his fur.
Jake then sat next to her on her bed and listened as she thanked him for coming
to see her and talked about her cats she missed so much at home. Jake helped
her through her many days of rehabilitation and made her time away from her
home and family a little easier.
