Man with Alzheimer’s briefly regains speech with family dog

A New Mexico woman whose father gradually lost most of his speech as his Alzheimer’s advanced, says spending time with the family pets often coxes small snippets of conversation from the ailing man.Charles Sasser was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease, an incurable and degenerative disease that causes memory loss, cognitive impairment, confusion, and the loss of various bodily functions as the disease progresses. It is a cruel disease, the illness and its effects are brutal for the sufferer and heartbreaking to the friends and family of the person diagnosed. Sasser, who is in the advanced stage of the disease, has, for the most part, lost his ability to speak, according to his daughter, Lisa Abeyta. Often, Sasser struggles to find the words he needs to express how he’s feeling or what he needs. But that all changes when Abeyta’s mostly non-verbal dad is around the family dogs.

In a touching video, Sasser lights up as Abeyta’s dog, Roscoe, presents him with a chew toy. Then, incredibly, Sasser starts talking, having a sweet conversation with his daughter’s dog. “Oh yeah, hey! You’ve got, you’ve got something! You’ve got something, huh?” Sasser says excitedly to Roscoe, who responds with a friendly wag of the tail, almost urging Sasser to continue. “Yeah, well, that…that’s too bad, there. That’s all. That’s all I’ve got.” In perhaps the most poignant part of the video, Sasser turns to Roscoe, saying, “Why don’t I take care. I’ll take you. And you take me,” capturing in a few simple phrases the special relationship he shares with his four-legged family members.

Touching moment who has been viewed more than 3.5 million times

She hopes the video will inspire dog owners to visit patients in Alzheimer’s care facilities with their furry friends. Abeyta says her father still has a close relationship with his own dogs, Molly and Cassy, who help Sasser through even the most difficult days of his illness. “My parents have two dogs in their home, one of which, Molly, is my father’s constant companion,” Abeyta writes on her blog. “More than once, I’ve watched him coo and talk to Molly even as his ability to form sentences and find the words he needs to communicate has deteriorated.” Abeyta said that during her father’s hour-long exchange with Roscoe, she was continually surprised by her dad’s “clarity and the ability to get out a complete sentence, not just a word here and there.” Watch the video, who has been viewed more than 3.5 million times and touched so many people.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, pets can provide emotional support and much-needed socialization for sufferers of the crippling disease. In fact, pet therapy is often recommended for Alzheimer’s and dementia patients.

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