17/08/2025
The doctors allowed the dog to come into the owner's room and say goodbye to him: a few hours later, the nurse came into the room and screamed in horror 😨😢
The palliative care ward was silent. Only the heartbeat monitor emitted rare signals - barely noticeable, like the breath of life fading in the body of an 82-year-old man.
He had long known his diagnosis: extensive metastases, irreversible changes, the doctors were honest - he had days, maybe hours left. But there was something that did not let him go - not the fear of death, but the pain of separation. Every day he looked out the window and whispered:
- Richie... Where are you, baby...
Richie is his old, battered, but loyal dog, whom he once picked up as a puppy on the road. They walked together for almost fifteen years - lost a wife, son, home, friends... Everything, except each other.
That day, when the nurse came to change the IV, an elderly man suddenly grabbed her hand:
— Let me see Richie... He's alone... I can't leave without hugging him.
The nurse turned pale. Animals in the ward are forbidden. But something trembled in her chest. She went to the head doctor. He looked at her as if she were crazy:
— This is a hospital... But... If this is his last wish...
Two hours later, a quiet bark was heard at the hospital entrance. The dog was skinny, with a gray muzzle.
The nurse opened the door to the ward - and Richie, without hesitation, jumped onto the bed. He carefully lay down on his owner's chest, resting his head on his shoulder.
The man whispered:
— Forgive me... Forgive me for not being here... My baby... Thank you...
He cried, stroked the dog, kissed her head. And Richie just whined quietly, as if to say: "I'm here. I'm with you. Until the end." They lay like that for several hours. The nurse decided not to disturb him and left the room. She finished her work and returned to the elderly patient. She opened the door of the room and screamed in horror 😨😢 Continued in the first comment 👇👇
