On instinct, I brought Zinnia to the Mansion today to continue what I thought would be some training. We went a lot deeper than that.

The visit turned out to be something much more powerful, something which flipped my heart and brought joy and peace to Jean, a dog-loving resident int the new Memory Care Unit.

I know Zinnia has great promise for this work, but until today, I did not grasp how intuitive and understanding of this work that she already possesses.

When we came into the Memory Care Unit, Jean was sitting on a sofa holding the baby doll; I gave her a couple of years ago. As she always does when she sees one of my dogs, she clapped her hands and shouted for joy.

I knew in advance she had had a difficult day, the memory-impaired are sometimes agitated and frustrated when they can no longer do the things they always did or remember the threads of their lives.

It is a hard thing for them and their families to go through.

Jean can no longer speak in coherent sentences, but her face and eyes are full of emotion. She knows me, and she knew Red. She did not remember Zinnia, who she met only once.

I carried Zinnia over to the sofa where Jean was sitting and stayed close, as Zinnia still likes to chew on people’s fingers or clothes, although that is diminishing.

I needn’t worry about that. She leaned into Jean, looked into her eyes, and stayed perfectly still while Jean talked to her in her language, and then petted her for nearly a half-hour.

It was a surprising thing to see and a beautiful thing to see. I went in thinking it would take us a couple of years to get to this point, but in some ways – not all ways – Zinnia is there.

She was calm, even still, and she made firm eye contact with Jean. She completely grasped the fragility of Jean and was quiet, chewed on nothing, didn’t climb or jump up in any way, and stayed so still she went to sleep after 15 minutes or so while Jean smiled and stroked her head and back.

She just got it; it was inside of her; she didn’t need to be taught the importance of this. It was a very big day for her, and also for me.

It reminded me of Red. He just knew what to do. He sensed both frailty and need, which is what Zinnia did today.

When she went to sleep next to Jean, I saw Jean’s face calm, she could have sat there like that for hours. It brought great peace to her.

The very best therapy dogs cannot be trained for this. They either have the gift, or they don’t. I can teach her not to jump and to focus on people, but I can’t train her to have the almost psychic intuition that the true therapy dog – Red, for instance, or Izzy – has to possess.

Jean, I was told, had a hard day, and she just beamed and smiled to be close to Zinnia, to touch, and stroke her and look into her eyes.

I was thrilled and also surprised. I know Zinnia has a great heart, but she is only 13 weeks old, and I didn’t expect her to be able to spread this kind of joy and connection so soon.

I don’t want to get cocky. She is a young and active dog, and I need to move slowly and thoughtfully. But today was a mind-blower for me and a beautiful one. There is nothing better for my heart than to see this, and I am grateful to be able to share the experience with you.

Afterward, we joined Maria in the activity room where she was teaching some art, and Zinnia, drained, lay down in a crowded room full of people and went to sleep.