Tracy Calhoun - JJs Journey: A Story of Heroes and Heart

To my husband, Tellus,
for helping to turn a Montana girl into the Crazy Dog Lady

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Tracy Calhoun RN BSN CHPN has been a hospice nurse for twenty-four years. She was a finalist in 2012 for the March of Dimes Nurse of the Year. Tracy is best known as JJs scribe on social media. She is also an instructor and examiner for Project Canine, a therapy dog organization, and an active volunteer with HOPE Animal-Assisted Crisis Response. She lives in Oregon with her husband, Tellus, and a multitude of animals.

Calhouns The Color Purple THDD RATN CGCA CGCU, better known as JJ, is a seven-year-old Golden Retriever. She is a therapy, hospice, and crisis response dog who is prone to sassiness and constantly in search of bacon. She often is confused with a male Irish Setter of unknown origin, no matter how many flowers she wears on her collars while at work. JJ works three days each week with Tracy at Samaritan Evergreen Hospice House, providing comfort to patients, families, staff, and volunteers. Over the years, JJ has become an international virtual therapy dog, helping others to celebrate the power of the human-animal bond and approach the often-scary topic of end of life, whether it be people or pets. She was voted Subarus Pet Hall of Fame winner in 2015. In an ironic twist, JJ now has a connection with patients as she never has before. She was diagnosed with lymphoma in December 2016 and has been undergoing treatment. During her days at the veterinary teaching hospital, she continues to give love and hugs to those caring for her, including a radiology tech whose mother was cared for at the Hospice House.

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Copyright 2017 by Tracy Calhoun
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

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First Diversion Books edition October 2017
ISBN: 978-1-63576-043-9

There never would have been a book had it not been for an, I have this idea, message from a publisher, Jaime Levine. Even in my wildest imagination, writing a book had never crossed my mind. After a very long phone conversation, Jaime gave me the confidence to indeed put my stories into words. I am forever grateful for her guidance and editing, and to Diversion Books for taking this project on.

As a young nurse, I had many who helped me in my transition from hospital to hospice work. I will never forget the nurses who taught me how to be a midwife at the other end of the life cycle. Thank you to Nancy, Vickie, Sara Jane, Joanne, and Marge. I channel you often.

To all my co-workers at Samaritan Evergreen Hospice, it has been a privilege to work beside you all. We have created an amazing program, with a great team, and I am so very fortunate to be back at the bedside again. I know I would be in excellent hands if I came here in need of care. I also know my teammates would be shaking their heads laughing, as they turn my pillow to the cool side.

Every time someone recounts a story about their time with JJ at the Hospice House or on a HOPE callout, it makes me smile and renews my spirit. I am so thankful for those who were willing to let me share the myriad of stories here. I am also grateful to Grace for helping to show the world the power of the human-animal connection through a simple touch. Her story has helped to continue the conversation around a very difficult topic.

It has been a great adventure to join the Project Canine team, and I have enjoyed working with Amy, Donna, and Judi as we continue to teach and support new therapy dog teams in Washington State and Oregon.

In the four years since we joined HOPE Animal-Assisted Crisis Response, the number of teams in our region and around the nation has grown tremendously. Through sharing stories of the training and volunteer work JJ and I have done, hopefully more people across the country will learn of the availability of these amazing teams during crises and disasters.

As JJs cancer treatment has progressed, we have been so fortunate to be cared for by the veterinary oncology team at Oregon State University. While we all know ultimately her care is palliative in nature, they have been amazing at making sure her needs are met along the way. During her daylong stays on treatment day, she gets to share some of her well-known, healing hugs and affection with the team. They, in turn, have made sure to be generous with the cookies. Oncology is such a challenging specialty, whether in people or veterinary medicine. I appreciate their dedication to the pets and owners they care for.

I think of my parents and know how thrilled they would be about this book. They would be especially tickled by the memories of one of my assignments from fifth grade, a story my mom reminded me of shortly before she died. We were tasked with writing an essay, although any specific instructional details escape me. When my essay was returned, written on it was something to the effect of Tracy, I am disappointed in you. One of your parents clearly wrote this for you. While my parents were voracious readers, neither were particularly skilled at writing. They did instill the love of reading in both my sister and me, and there were many times they would catch me after bedtime with a book and a flashlight under the covers. I can imagine laughing with both of my parents about the irony of the cheating young student becoming a published author.

Many of these stories would not have been possible without a goofy, fun loving, perpetually starving, and intuitive dog. JJ placed her trust in me at an early age and has always been willing to go along with my silly ideas. Her antics with my husband and deep adoration of him never fail to make me smile. She has been my partner for all my years as a nurse at the Hospice House and I will always carry her heart and her spirit with me, long after she is gone. Dogs embody the concept of living in the moment. Her motto has become Barke Diem, a dogs take on Carpe Diem, meaning seize the day. With deep appreciation, I thank my heart and soul dog for the ride of a lifetime. She, of course, would prefer bacon.

What is the difference between therapy and service dogs?

There is much confusion about the differences. Service dogs and therapy dogs do different jobs, and their training and focus differ greatly as well. A service dog is trained to assist one person with a task or tasks for their specific disability. This role is federally protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Therapy dogs make visits out in public and interact with many different people. They are designated as pets and have no legal rights under state and federal laws. Unfortunately, there have been many people who have tried to pass off their dogs as service dogs to obtain access to places pets are not allowed. Most of the time, these dogs behave poorly and are clearly not trained. Fake service dogs are creating problems in the public for those people who have real service dogs. There also is a third designation, Emotional Support Animals, whose main function is to provide emotional support to their handler. These animals are not covered by the ADA laws, but can live in any housing with their handler under the Fair Housing Act.