If you have a dog in your life, you already know that these sweet creatures have a knack for brightening your day.
That's certainly the case for one elderly grandma with Alzheimer's, who gets more happiness than she ever dreamed from the affections of a sweet dementia-therapy dog.
The elderly lady in question is Winifred Lowe, the grandmother of a young man named Richard Dawson.
Richard recently took to Twitter to share the incredible way that visits from a dementia therapy dog have impacted his grandmother's life.
Like the lovely senior citizens who get happiness and satisfaction out of caring for newborn kittens, Winifred is at a point in her life where the little things make a huge difference.
Her Alzheimer's make her confused and angry a lot of the time, but dogs, as we all know, are the best medicine.
Now, Winifred has a new lease on life, thanks to her cheerful new puppy friend Orla!
A young man named Richard Dawson recently made major waves online after he shared some truly adorably photos of his elderly grandmother happily snuggling a tiny puppy.
The photos, which he posted to his Twitter account, became an online sensation.
He was retweeted and liked thousands of times online, and his powerful photos are bringing awareness to a difficult topic: the emotional pain of Alzheimer's disease.
Richard's grandmother Winifred is 95 years old and has Alzheimer's. The illness robs her of her memories and sense of self, which is devastating for her.
Fortunately, a sweet puppy arrived just in time to help!
Richard writes: "My 95-year-old Nan has Alzheimer's, so she cries a lot and gets very angry and confused. We started borrowing a dog and now this happens."
"This" is sheer and utter joy, for Grandma and for her new best friend, Orla.
Orla is a 9-month-old dachshund puppy. Like most dogs, her favorite thing in the world is making the people around her happy!
She certainly knows how to show Winifred her love and affection.
Photo after photo shows Orla giving Winifred so many kisses that she can't even sit still.
In the image above, gleeful Orla is so thrilled to be snuggling up with her favorite grandma that the picture is blurry. Orla was wiggling too much for a clear photo!
For her part, Winifred seems totally unconcerned with her new viral fame. Her number one priority is spending more time with her lovely new puppy friend.
Richard reports in a followup: "I showed Nan the pictures… but her first question was, 'Who is that old lady in the photos?'… She's just happy that her playmate is visiting."
After the first visit went viral, Winifred is having regular playtime with sweet Orla.
Meanwhile, Orla and Winifred's 15 minutes of fame has had a major impact around the world.
Richard reports that other people have contacted him with questions, or commented that they would like to arrange something similar for folks in their lives with dementia and Alzheimer's.
We hope that animal therapy takes off in a big way; it seem to make a huge difference. SHARE if you agree!
