DISCUSSION POINTS for
THE MONSTER DOG: A SMALL DOG WITH A BIG HEART LEARNS ABOUT ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
The following ideas from the book could be used in the classroom to teach about Dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease, Forgetting, Confusion, Death, Grief, and Recovery.
Ken Tribbett had Alzheimer’s Disease for eighteen years. He spent three years in a nursing home. The disease was located in the Hippocampus, found in the Temporal Lobe of the brain. He did not have a personality change which I understand is found in patients with Lewy Bodies whose Pre-frontal Lobe is involved.
He did have sleep difficulties with apnea and was in three studies at the Mayo Clinic. Two studies were regarding drugs, and the third dealt with sleep problems.He also, as often happens, was troubled with Parkinson’s Disease in later years. His father had what was called ‘hardening of the arteries,’ so there was probably a genetic disposition for memory problems.
Chapter 2: Forgetting, Falling and Failing
p. 7 “Sometimes you just have to do things for people you love, even when you don’t want to.”
p. 8 “I had become a seeing-Ken-home dog. I had to slowly and gently lead him on our walks.”
p. 9 “People with dementia often remember things that happened a long time ago, and they often like to talk about those memories with other grown-ups or children.”
Chapter 3: Visiting Ken
p. 13 “After a while, I noticed when some dogs came to visit, they seemed scared.”
p. 13 “I learned many older people just love children and dogs, so I made many new friends.”
p. 14 “It is good to have something to comfort you. Sometimes, people with Alzheimer’s Disease find comfort in a special thing. Ken had a special quilt to keep him warm and comfy.”
p. 15 “At first I went yipping down the hall… but I had to learn to be quieter.”
p. 15 “It made me sad and confused to think he might forget me, but I thought, “I know if he forgot me in his mind, he will always remember me in his heart.”
p. 16 “He wanted to eat my dog treat instead of his chocolate! It made me sad to see him so confused, but I knew he couldn’t help it.”
p. 16 “From then on, I remembered to move slowly so I wouldn’t startle him.”
p. 18 “I noticed that some grandmas and grandpas at the care center got crabby. Ken didn’t. He just got quieter and quieter and drifted into his own world.”
p. 18 “It often appeared as if he didn’t know we were there. Sometimes we just sat there and Carmen would hold his hand.”
p. 18 “Sometimes, you can’t know what a person with memory problems understands. ‘We just have to be there for him,’ Carmen said one day while driving home.”
Chapter 4: Happy Times Again
p. 20 “It hurts. It hurts when someone you love dies.”
p. 21 “We still miss seeing him, but now I am older. I have learned that life goes on.”
p. 24 “I realize it is part of God’s plan to be born, live life, have our bodies die, and our spirits move on to Heaven.”
p. 24 “We try to remember his well-lived life. We try to remember happy times when he was strong and well.”
p. 24 “We are pleased he is no longer sick or forgetful, or confused.”
p. 24 “Someday we will be together again in Heaven. That makes me happy, for I loved him so.”
Thank you for reading
The Monster Dog: A Small Dog with a Big Heart Learns About Alzheimer’s Disease
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