Ritchie – his old, scruffy but loyal dog, whom he had found as a puppy by the roadside. They had spent almost fifteen years together – they had lost his wife, their son, their home, their friends… everything, except each other.

That day, when the nurse came in to change the IV, the elderly man suddenly grabbed her hand:

— Please… Let me see Ritchie… He’s alone… I can’t go without hugging him one last time.

The nurse turned pale. Animals weren’t allowed in patient rooms. But something stirred in her heart. She went to the head physician. He looked at her like she was insane: