{"id":976,"date":"2016-01-07T05:54:22","date_gmt":"2016-01-07T10:54:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cms.shelquist.us\/?p=976"},"modified":"2016-01-07T05:54:22","modified_gmt":"2016-01-07T10:54:22","slug":"jan-7-learning-from-our-canine-companions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms.shelquist.us\/?p=976","title":{"rendered":"Jan. 7 \u2013 Learning from our Canine Companions"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"shariff\" data-title=\"Jan. 7 \u2013 Learning from our Canine Companions\" data-info-url=\"http:\/\/ct.de\/-2467514\" data-backend-url=\"https:\/\/cms.shelquist.us\/wp-content\/plugins\/shariff-sharing\/backend\/index.php\" data-temp=\"\/tmp\" data-ttl=\"60\" data-service=\"gftr\" data-services='[\"googleplus\",\"facebook\",\"twitter\",\"reddit\",\"info\"]' data-image=\"\" data-url=\"https:\/\/cms.shelquist.us\/?p=976\" data-lang=\"en\" data-theme=\"colored\" data-orientation=\"horizontal\"><\/div><p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cms.shelquist.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/010716_1054_Jan7Learni1.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/>\n\t<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Verdana; font-size:16pt\">I LOVE THIS PICTURE!!!!!<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Verdana; font-size:16pt\">The reason I love it is because show the two dogs sharing the gift of presence in a loving supportive way.  It also reminds me of my role as a chaplain.  I don&#8217;t go around the hospital touching people on the nose as the dog is doing in this picture.  I move from place to place in the hospital listening to patients, visitors, and employees share what is on their heart and mind at the moment.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Verdana; font-size:16pt\">As I listen I respond with:<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family:Verdana; font-size:16pt\">Empathy<br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family:Verdana; font-size:16pt\">Interest<br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family:Verdana; font-size:16pt\">Affirmation<br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Verdana; font-size:16pt\">These responses bring comfort and also start building a relationship that can help support the person on subsequent visits.  I find that people are starving for these three responses.  I hear accounts of people suffering under the burden of being criticized unfairly, being ignored by those they had previously trusted, and who feel lost in an emotional desert.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Verdana; font-size:16pt\">What difference do chaplains make? It is hard to measure by a statistical method.  I recognize the difference I make as a chaplain by the response I receive from the encounters.  People who were not smiling, now smile. People who felt no one cared, now know that at least one person cares, and I am told that a repeat visit is desired.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family:Verdana; font-size:16pt\">The picture of these two dogs reminds me of my mission: to bring peace and comfort to those I serve.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I LOVE THIS PICTURE!!!!! The reason I love it is because show the two dogs sharing the gift of presence in a loving supportive way. It also reminds me of my role as a chaplain. I don&#8217;t go around the hospital touching people on the nose as the dog is doing in this picture. I &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/cms.shelquist.us\/?p=976\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Jan. 7 \u2013 Learning from our Canine Companions<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms.shelquist.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms.shelquist.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms.shelquist.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms.shelquist.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms.shelquist.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=976"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cms.shelquist.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/976\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":977,"href":"https:\/\/cms.shelquist.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/976\/revisions\/977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms.shelquist.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms.shelquist.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms.shelquist.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}