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Jerrie Whiteley: GOOD MORNING: Regular nursing home visitor makes last trip

Herald Democrat - 3/23/2019

March 22-- Mar. 22--A couple of years back, we had the opportunity to introduce our readers to a pair that regularly visited local nursing homes to cheer folks up.

Billy Hamilton and his dog Buddy made the rounds at local nursing homes for years. Billy would talk with the residents, but Buddy was the one who really made contact.

"You should just see the way they light up," Billy said of his dog's impact on the nursing home residents.

This week, Billy said the dog who brought such joy to others had made his last visit of any kind.

The last few months have been hard on the Hamilton family. Billy and his wife, Cathey, were in a serious wreck down in the Metroplex. Billy wasn't hurt, but Cathey was and she is still recovering in a Sherman nursing home.

"We hope she will get to come home in a few months," Billy said in a phone call Wednesday.

Buddy, Billy said, was their constant companion even in the ICU in the Metroplex hospital. But when they got home, their Buddy wasn't the same. He stopped eating and his health declined.

Billy took him for an emergency vet visit Sunday night and then to his normal vet Monday morning. Buddy, the vet said, had several major health problems and he was in pain.

Billy then made the decision to say goodbye to his dear friend. The vet said he figured the blue-heeler mix was around 16 years old. He spent many of those years spreading cheer everywhere he went and it is hard to imagine a life better lived.

"He just had a charisma," Billy said of the dog. He said he knew fairly early on that his rescue dog had a higher calling and it was a joy to get to see him work his charming magic through nursing home after nursing home over the years.

Buddy will be missed beyond just the Hamilton home.

--Happy birthday Sunday to Loretta Walker of Sherman; and Cheryl Eichelberger Doty of Monument, Colorado.

Happy anniversary Sunday to Brad and Carrie Sisemore of Pottsboro, 18 years.

Happy birthday Monday to Unne Hughley and Adrian Stevenson, both of Sherman; and Nelda Phipps Bauer of Saint Cloud, Florida.

Happy anniversary Monday to Casey and Starla McKinney of Sherman, 22 years.

___

(c)2019 the Herald Democrat (Sherman, Texas)

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