A dying man was granted his final wish when he was allowed to say goodbye to his beloved pet dog, in heart-wrenching scenes at Dundee’s Ninewells Hospital.
Nurses and care assistants have been praised for allowing Peter Robson the chance to see border collie Shep one last time.
Hospital staff managed to work around infection control policies to bring Shep into the hospital’s Ward 3 and give Peter the send-off he wanted.
Video of the emotional moment shows Peter wearing an oxygen mask and stroking Shep from his hospital bed, as the dog wags its tail with delight at seeing his owner again.
Family members can be seen in the background wiping away tears at the heart-breaking scene.
Peter died shortly after the touching footage was filmed.
His family have now said they were “eternally grateful” to the staff in Ward 3, adding: “You don’t know what this meant to our granddad.”
Peter’s granddaughter, Ashley Stevens, shared the emotional video clips and images to social media.
The post has since went viral, with more than 8,000 people responding to the Facebook post. Viwers also praised NHS staff for their actions.
Ashley wrote: “Absolutely amazed and touched today from the NHS Ninewells Hospital, our granddad’s last and final wish was to see his dog one more time.
“Still in shock that the wish was granted and they went above and beyond today and made a dying man very happy.
“Cheryl White, charge nurse of Ward 3, you are an absolute angel.”
Senior charge nurse at Ward 3 Fiona McCallum also praised her staff for their efforts in getting Shep to Peter’s bedside.
She said: “I am so proud of Cheryl and the rest of the team for this caring and compassionate act.
“The team worked with colleagues in infection control to make this possible and I can’t thank them all enough for going above and beyond to bring some comfort to Mr Robson and his family.”
NHS Tayside Chief Executive Lesley McLay added: “Our thoughts are with Mr Robson’s family as they deal with their loss at this difficult time.
“The Ward 3 team has done a wonderful thing for this family.
“It is often the little things that mean the most to patients and their families and I’m so pleased that the staff were able to grant this wish.
“The team in Ward 3 was the first ever Gold Outstanding Team winner in our STAR Awards last year and, with actions like this, it’s not hard to see why.”
