Graham, a Plott Hound/beagle mix, visits with residents at the Newhaven Court at Clearview assisted-living center. Graham is a rescue dog who lives at the facility.

Graham once paid resident Madeline Golec an unexpected visit to her room.

Although the dog was full of smiles, her cat gave him a hiss or two and hid under her bed, she said.

For Newhaven Court at Clearview residents, Graham brings back memories of former furry friends and acts as a substitute pet.

“See how everyone is smiling? I think it's a very good thing to have a pet because we all remember when we had pets,” Golec said as she looked around the room at residents who tossed balls and toys to the overjoyed dog. “He's really a cutie.”

Graham, a Plott Hound and beagle mix who is about a year old, has made his home at the assisted living facility, located 100 Newhaven Lane, as the community dog for about a year as part of its Community Pet program.

Graham came to the facility as a 10-week-old puppy after Kathy Roudybush, the facility's lifestyles director, adopted him from Bridge to Home Animal Rescue, a nonprofit, foster-based, rescue group dedicated to helping unwanted, abandoned and abused dogs, located in Eighty Four.

This is an excerpt from a story that appeared in Tuesday's Butler Eagle.