BELLAIRE, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Every Friday in the summer, residents of the Meadow Brook Medical Care Facility in Bellaire can be seen reeling in fish on Fishing Friday from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. If you drive by the facility, you will notice a group of seniors in wheelchairs sitting out on the veranda overlooking the small pond on the facility’s property, weather permitting of course.

The pond, stocked every spring by the Michigan DNR and the local conservation club in Antrim County, contains thousands of rainbow trout just waiting to get snatched up by the excited anglers. The men are dressed in shorts and t-shirts and the women are in their fishing outfits and straw hats. They’ve even caught perch a few times although no one is quite sure how they ended up in the Bellaire pond.

MORE NEWS: Bedrock, GM Propose $250M in Taxpayer Money for Ren Cen Revamp

The staff says that Fishing Friday usually brings out about a dozen of their senior residents every week and that was true when Michigan News Source visited the facility last week on Friday, August 25th. Some of the residents were there to catch fish and some were just spectating and supporting the others. The staff was busy accommodating three anglers at a time, with the others sitting in their wheelchairs, waiting for their turn to fish. Meadow Brook resident Rose caught one of the bigger trouts that day, measuring 16” long from mouth to tail.

Helping them catch their limit of fish, which was two for the day, were Activity Aide June McGrath, Household Coordinator Angie McGuire and volunteer Charlie Johnson, a veteran in the Army Reserve, who has volunteered with the program for about five years. Johnson’s in-laws had created the fishing program.

The senior residents use live worms and bobbers to catch their fish and the staff has two nets to help them bring in in their haul. Everyone wants to eat their own fish that they catch so the trout are put into large gallon bags with the resident’s names on them after they are caught. The fish are distributed to the residents the same day to cook in their own kitchen or the staff can cook up a delicious feast for them.

Although Johnson does most of the casting for the residents, some of the seniors prefer to do it on their own and there is also an adaptive pole set up for them if they aren’t able to hold it themselves. That way “everybody gets a chance to fish whether they can hold the pole or not,” says Therapeutic Recreation Director/Volunteer Coordinator Brooke Bates. She also says that Fish Friday is the most popular activity at the facility.

When asked what the largest amount of fish that the residents have caught in a day, Bates says it is probably about 63 fish. That happened right after the Covid pandemic when things settled down and the residents were able to fish together again. Before that, they had to get taken out to the pond separately in their wheelchairs. But right after Covid, there were about 21 residents who all caught their limit of three fish each.

Bates isn’t sure how long Fishing Friday has been going on but she says they’ve been doing it ever since she started working there about 17 years ago.

The Meadow Brook facility is a very pet-friendly place overall, with a resident dog named Scout, a cockatiel in a cage near the door named Cosmo, many birds in the aviaries and also pet visitors who, after getting approved by Bates, can visit residents in the facility. There have even been some kitten visitors who have come to hang out recently.

MORE NEWS: Otsego County Man Faces Poaching Charges

The resident dog, Scout, is a local celebrity, having appeared in media articles after his escape from the county Animal Control building in 2017. Bates says that he didn’t seem to like the digs down the street at the Antrim County Animal Control facility and kept escaping to Meadow Brook, jumping over fences and running across the highway. He would appear in the lobby and lay on the couch, only to be rounded up by the sheriff each time he showed up where he wasn’t supposed to be.

After Scout’s many visits, one of the workers at the facility had taken him home to adopt him but he got very nervous during thunderstorms and she sensed that he needed somebody with him all of the time. Since he had already decided where he wanted to live by showing up at Meadow Brook several times, the administrator, Marna Robertson, decided to “adopt” him for the residents. She had said, “Scout chose us so we need to choose him.” In February, he was featured in the facility’s newsletter as “resident of the month.”

No one knows exactly how old Scout is since he was a stray but Bates thinks he is probably about 8-years-old. Bates says he fits right in at the facility and will lay down with the residents and is attentive when someone is not feeling good. He gets plenty of snuggles, pats on the heat, scratches behind the ears, and “good boys” as he walks around the building. And although the tables where the residents eat say not to feed the dog, during my visit, I saw a few scraps “accidentally” hit the floor near the dog. Speaking of food, Scout definitely knows who to go to for biscuits. He often stops by to visit resident Butch Craig who has a bag of dog treats in his closet for when Scout visits (frequently).

And although Scout loves hanging out with all of the residents and staff, it was clear to see that Household Coordinator Jenny Martinek is his favorite. He has a very special bond with her and is often by her side, especially as she walks down the halls, checking on the residents. She told the Detroit Free Presss about their relationship, “I just think he needed a mom, and I just happened to be the one.” You can learn more about Scout and his life at the facility in a recent article from the Detroit Free Press here.

Meadow Brook and Scout are giving back to the animal control shelter where Scout came from by hosting the 2nd Annual “Scouts House Paws for the Pantry Fundraiser” which is going on right now. They are asking the community to donate food, treats, beds, cleaning supplies and other items to the county’s animal shelter. They have an Amazon wish list set up and the information for the fundraiser is at the link here.

Also at the facility, when you first enter through the doorway, is a cockatiel named Cosmo. He originally lived with a woman who couldn’t take care of him anymore – so Cosmo, along with his mate, Porsche, came to live at Meadow Brook. Porsche passed away and now Cosmo is on his own, whistling at people who walk by.

In addition to Cosmo, there are finches and other small birds throughout the facility in aviaries.

More recently, cute and fuzzy kittens have been seen at Meadow Brook too. Activity Aide June McGrath, who is the founder of the organization AC PAW, has been rescuing cats and dogs most of her life and although she recently “retired,” turning AC PAW into a spay/neuter organization instead of a rescue organization, that hasn’t stopped her from personally rescuing animals in need.

She is currently taking care of kittens and recently brought them in to visit with the residents. The seniors loved handling the kittens and June was happy to get them socialized as she readies them to find homes soon.

In addition to the pets at the facility and ones brought in by the staff, families can also bring in pets to see the residents. There is also a therapy dog who visits whose name is “Douglas MacArthur.” The therapy dog was supposed to be a leader dog for the blind but he had allergies so he wasn’t able to finish the program. Instead, Bates says that he visits Meadow Brook and other facilities in the area.

Bates also told the story of a snowy owl who came to the facility for a visit. Apparently it had been caught at the airport and before being relocated, the person who caught it, who had a grandma at Meadow Brook, brought it in for the residents to see.

Whether they have two legs or four, are fish or fowl, canine or feline, animals of all kinds are a constant at Meadow Brook and the smiles on the faces of the residents show that the interaction with them is making life a whole lot brighter and less lonely for the seniors at the Meadow Brook facility.