After Being Separated From Her Dog, Care Home Resident Receives a Touching Gift

A delighted care home resident has spoken of the ‘total miracle‘ of being reunited with her pet dog.

Touching reunion

When Diana Darlington’s beloved husband Roy passed away last year, she made the tough decision to leave their memory-filled home to move closer to family. She made the heartbreaking decision to leave her dog, Jak, behind with a relative when she moved into Redwalls Nursing Home in Sandiway, England. The 82-year-old left the Bichon-Lakeland terrier mix with a relative who lived more than 200 miles away, which meant she didn’t get to see him very often. But she deeply missed her pet, who had been a birthday gift from Roy, and care home staff soon hatched a plan to reunite the best friends. Jodie Solaiman and Claire Dunnett began a search to find a local home for the 10-year-old Bichon-Lakeland terrier cross.

Claire’s sister, Sarah Roberts, soon came to the rescue and adopted him. Diana was amazed when she was told that Jak’s new home was just five minutes from Redwalls. The mum-of-five said: ‘I feel like it is a million Christmases all coming at once. What could I have ever done to deserve this? I feel happiness on top of happiness. He is the only thing I have left of me and Roy.He’s a special dog. I will be forever grateful to Sarah. It’s like a total miracle. If you would have told me a week ago this would happen I would have never have believed you. I am so lucky.’

Heartwarming moment

@redwallsnursinghome We don’t deserve dogs 🥺🐶 #dog #dogsofttiktok #puppy #nursinghome #fyp #foryoupage #wholesome #animalsoftiktok #bestfriend ♬ Pieces (Solo Piano Version) – Danilo Stankovic

The touching moment when Diana and Jak were reunited was caught on camera by care home staff. In the video – which has already received more than 300,000 views on social media – Jak bounds into the room before having a long overdue cuddle with Diana. Jodie said: ‘It has worked out so perfectly as Claire brings Jak into the home when she is on duty. ‘A few hours after Diana was reunited with Jak I went into the room to check on them both and Jak was curled up on Diana’s bed and they were both asleep. Later on, Diana told me that she felt so calm and complete knowing that Jak was back with her.’ Jak is settling with his new owner Sarah and her other dogs, and visits the nursing home two to three times a week. Watch the video, she was in tears with happiness.