Jim Dalbec is program coordinator for Ela Township’s “55 Plus,” a program providing activities, outings and classes to more than 1,000 senior citizens in the Lake Zurich area.
As part of the program, Tilly, a chocolate labrador retriever and rescue dog, often interacts and socializes with the seniors, he said.
Q. Can you tell us about your furry friend?
A. Our best guess is she’s around 9 years old. She lives with our director of adult and senior services, Susan Dillon, and we brought her here in 2013. She spends pretty much every day with us, Monday through Friday. She interacts with our seniors, whose demeanor seems to be more positive when Tilly is around. She strolls through the senior center and people pet her. She’s free to roam wherever, and Tilly loves belly rubs.
Q. Any problems with Tilly?
A. People brought treats and she gained quite a bit of weight. So, we had to enact a strict policy of no treats. With 1,000 members here, that’s a lot of treats. She’s pretty trim now. She sometimes goes into people’s purses, looking for snack bars. She’ll follow people around, too, because they forget they have treats in their pockets. She can smell them. She even followed a woman into the bathroom and crawled under the stall.
Q. Does she participate in senior activities?
A. Every Tuesday and Thursday, residents, 55 Plus members and I go for walks at Cuba Marsh Forest Preserve on West Cuba Road. Tilly goes, too. We try to go year round, and she loves our walks. We have videos on our Facebook page of her and a deer walking down a path together at Cuba Marsh. It was the most bizarre thing ever.
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