Mount Evans Home Health Care and Hospice in Colorado gives each hospice patient the opportunity to make a final wish.  Some have asked to attend a special family event, or to have a favorite beverage.  But Dan, who had dogs all his life, asked for a visit from a Golden Retriever puppy he could cuddle.  His nurse reached out to the hospice staff to help fulfill the wish, and the staff reached out to the community.  In response to a request posted online, Amber Traub volunteered to bring in her 11-week-old Golden Retriever, Galadriel.

Dan’s own Golden Retriever had died a few months earlier, leaving a void in his life and his heart.

The day after answering the online post, Amber and her husband brought Galadriel to visit Dan.  The dying man and the puppy played fetch, engaged in tug of war, and spent lots of time cuddling on Dan’s couch.  When the visit was over, Dan was exhausted but so very happy.  He died a few days later, grateful that his last wish was fulfilled.

– Elizabeth DeCoux, BBUUC Animal Chaplain