Emma

(C) 2016 Luke T. Bush


PLATTSBURGH CITY, NY -- March 12, 2016

(Click on each image to enlarge.)

Silently paws pad down the carpeted hallway.  She selects one of her favorite spots, usually the one near the nurses station.  She lies down, a small gray and white queen.

Her green eyes observe.  Sometimes a wheelchair or walker passes by.  Towering bipeds smile, say hello or pause, lean over to pet her.  A typical Emma day.

Around eight years ago Emma and her owner moved to Meadowbrook Healthcare.  After her owner died she stayed, providing some happiness to the nursing home residents and staff.

A white haired woman sits in a wheelchair parked in the hallway, laughing when she spots the furry wanderer.  The woman says how much she loves Emma.
  
Emma disappears, maybe picking one room to nap, keeping company with a resident.

Gone.  But when you least expect it you turn around and there she is again: the resident with four quiet feet, watching.

 "Emma, that's my jacket, not a toy."