Puppy manages to wiggle his way into many hearts at nursing home

Tucker gets the royal treatment at Providence Marianwood nursing home in Issaquah. He has charmed his way into the hearts of residents and staff.

Although the year-old dog still has the energy of a puppy, he's patient with residents who don't move as fast as he does. He fetches the ball they may toss only a few feet.

And he still wags his tail even when they call him Abe.

Abe was nurse Sheilagh Nutter's Welsh corgi and she had been bringing him to Marianwood since he was a puppy.

Nutter and Abe had gone through the Delta Society training, a program for service and therapy animals. Abe was beloved at Marianwood and considered part of the staff for more years than Nutter can recall.

In late 2002 the dog got sick and the vet discovered a large tumor. Abe died; he was so loved that a memorial service at the nursing home brought in 300 pounds of dog food for the Humane Society.

Although people missed Abe, Nutter had personal health challenges. Another dog wasn't on her agenda.

"I wasn't prepared for a new dog," she said. "I wasn't sure I wanted another one."

Early this year, Leo and Kathy Notenboom of Woodinville moved a family member to Marianwood and began making regular visits.

"Visiting pets are allowed, even encouraged," Leo said. "So each time we visit we try to take at least one of our three Pembroke Welsh corgis.

"We could see it was hard for Sheilagh to see our dogs."

It was so hard, she said, that at first she couldn't look at or even pet the visiting corgis.

Then she heard about Tucker.

Perhaps it was Tucker's need as much as her own that convinced Nutter to adopt him from a purebred rescue group. He was fearful, particularly of loud noises, and afraid to come into the house. Nutter brought him home and began lavishing love upon the gold and beige dog. He thrived.

"He comes to work with me every day now," she said. "He knows his way around, that there are dog cookies waiting for him at the pharmacy."

Nutter, who lives in Renton, will be putting Tucker through formal Delta Society training soon, but meanwhile he behaves just as a therapy dog should — being kind and patient with the residents.

"It's almost like Abe never left," she said. "When we walk into the Alzheimer's unit, people will say, 'There's Abe, there's the dog.' He's already melted everyone's heart."

Kid germs: Teachers get exposed daily to the latest bugs.

A Bellevue first-grade teacher, recovering from a bout with the flu, was chatting with her next-door neighbor last week.

When he asked about school, she said, "I love my kids, but they make me sick."

Honored: Neil McReynolds of Bellevue was honored recently at the Puget Sound Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America with the Jay Rockey Lifetime Achievement Award.

Just as important as the award was the roll call of folks who showed up to help present it. The list included former Gov. Dan Evans; John Ellis, retired CEO of Puget Sound Energy and the Seattle Mariners; Dr. Lee Hartwell, president and director of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center; Dr. Stephen Jordan, president of Eastern Washington University; and Jay Rockey, chairman of Rockey, Hill and Knowlton Public Relations.

McReynolds, 69, serves on six boards. He teaches corporate-governance classes as part of the University of Washington MBA program. He operates an executive advisory firm and serves as strategic director and partner at a Seattle venture-capital group.

One last grin: A Redmond woman saw this license frame on a Volkswagen. (If only this worked as well for a Porsche or Mercedes!)

It read:

I saw it, I liked it

I whined, I got it

Sherry Grindeland: 206-515-5633 or sgrindeland@seattletimes.com