Re-homing a dog is usually a very challenging task. It can be even more difficult to find a home for a dog whose owner has just died. Potential owners realize that the dog will be grieving the loss of his prior owner. They might not want to take on the responsibility of giving the dog the extra TLC that they will need. Would you ever expect a nurse to adopt a dying patient’s dog?
With nowhere else to go, they might end up in a dog shelter with lots of competition for being chosen. If he is acting depressed or unwilling to interact with potential adopters, he may not be chosen at all. It is the rare but lucky dog whose owner has made preemptive arrangements before their death and has a home lined up for the dog. (Check out the link at the end of this article that deals with this topic)
An unusual situation caused a special nurse to adopt a dying patient’s dog
Kim Still, a nurse employed by the Northside Hospital in Gwinnett County, Georgia, found herself in a very touching situation. One of her patients was not only quite elderly, she was terminally ill. Still formed a close connection with this particular patient and it hurt her to see how stressed this elderly woman became from worrying about her beloved chihuahua, Jax.
The lady had bever had children and there were no relatives who lived close by. Jax was all she had. Upon her death, the remaining family made the decision to have Jax surrendered to the local animal shelter. The tender hearted nurse realized that the odds were that Jax would probably end up being euthanized.
How could this sad situation have been avoided?
Many people plan ahead and some even organize their funeral arrangements to spare loved ones from having to go through this sad process. But, sadly, few make arrangements for their fur babies to have a new home. Maybe it is just too painful to think of being without them so they just keep putting it off until it is too late. By then, no arrangements have been made and the dog often ends up in a shelter with little chance of being adopted.
The patient is not the only one concerned about her dog
We have been informed that the elderly patient found out before she died that her family was flying in for her beloved dog . Thankfully, this knowledge helped her to die peacefully. She was never aware that her family planned to drop Jax off at the local animal shelter.
Kim was an exceptional nurse. Not only did she provide excellent nursing care to her dying patient, she formed a close bond with her as well. Just the thought of the dog whom her patient had loved so much being euthanized was more than Kim could bear.
The strong bond between the nurse and the patient prompted Kim to go see Jax at the shelter. She had also started to bond with the dog and was unable to walk out the door without him! She clearly went above and beyond the call of nursing to adopt Jax into her own family.
Kim knew that she could give Jax the best kind of life possible. It also helped her to deal with the loss of the patient with whom she had developed such a strong bond. Further, the thought of the patient having died under the false impression that Jax was safe was a bitter pill to swallow. She knew that she could change that by giving Jax the loving home the dying patient had been promised.
Nursing is much more than providing basic healthcare, sometimes it is when a special nurse adopts a dying patient’s dog
Nursing is much more than providing basic health care for a patient. The really good nurses form a deep, human connection with their patients. Even Kim was surprised with the strength of the bond that had formed between this particular patient and herself.
”I could never have predicted the bond you develop with some people when you take care of them,” Kim told WSB-TV.” They completely transformed my life.”
Kim claimed that she just could not stop herself from taking Jax home. She insisted that he is one of the sweetest and most loving dogs that she has ever known and that he adored her from the moment they first met.
Here is a photo of Kim receiving the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses.
Learn more in the story below.
Video:https://youtu.be/OaqRO0VrPZk