open up, smile, give kisses and be involved hugging the pets,” Stiehl said. “For people that cannot get out of bed, Anita puts the dogs up on the bed and the birds sit on the bed rails. It’s a whole menagerie. If Anita plays music, the birds will sit there and dance.” But it isn’t just the residents that benefit from the visit. “I am blessed in the way that God has allowed me to have my pets, and healthy for so long, and I feel in this blessing I really need to share that happiness they give me with the residents I know don’t have their pets,” said Baez, who is often accompanied by another pet volunteer. “All my life I’ve had pets. Once you go into a nursing home, it’s not by choice. If I ever have to go into a nursing home, I pray and hope there is someone who will share their pets with me.” Baez said she’s been doing therapy pet visits since 1997 when a group of students at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor got the idea for a pet therapy project. It was a six month project that went beyond its expiration date thanks to the caring volunteers who continue pet therapy visits today. In the early days, Baez they would visit the VA hospital and nursing homes three Saturdays a month. “We would go with the dogs to visit inpatient or outpatient residents. We always dressed up in costume, depending on the season — Fourth of July, Halloween, Valentine’s Day. Now I usually do special occasions like Christmas or Halloween, just a few times a year.” Baez said all pets are obedience trained and up to date on all their vaccines before visiting homes.
From a tropical island to Texas Baez was born and raised in Puerto Rico and said as a child, her family always had dogs and cats. “My love affair with animals started a long time ago,” she said. “One of the first photos of me is as a baby surrounded by puppies.” In addition to cats and dogs, Baez said she and her siblings had an assortment of birds, turtles, fish and hamsters as they were growing up. She called her childhood an innocent time when she and her friends would get together, take bus trips to the beach, go to movies or hang out at the mall. “We 14
DECEMBER 2016 | TEX APPEAL
Delilah, a 16-year-old umbrella cockatoo, is ready to wave the flag on the Fourth of July.
were having fun, doing the right thing,” she said. Her parents were from different cultures. Her mom was from Scotland and migrated to America when she was still in her 20s. Her dad was Puerto Rican. Her parents met when they were both living in New York. She said her mom had never heard of Puerto Rico. “I’m half Scottish and half Puerto Rican,” Baez said. She grew up bilingual, speaking English at home and Spanish with her friends and at school. Jolie was her late mother’s pet, still
living in Puerto Rico with her father. After her dad passed away, Baez went back to the island and brought Jolie home to Texas. Baez likes sharing her pets with others. She said the residents can associate and relate to the loving feeling of holding a dog, or seeing a bird. “Some people have never touched a bird before,” she said. “Touching, holding and petting a dog calms a person. It helps them so much. I like to share the joy and happiness I receive. It is my responsibility to share it.”