Touching pictures of an elderly women with her therapy dog are giving us all the feels.
The 95-year-old, Winifred Lowe, suffers from Alzheimer’s and often becomes distressed, but luckily she now has a small Daschund on hand to soothe her.
Lowe’s grandson Richard Dawson, who is her live-in carer alongside his brother, shared adorable photos of the pair on Twitter.
“My 95-year-old Nan has Alzheimer’s, so she cries a lot and gets very angry and confused,” he explained. “We started borrowing a dog and now this happens.”
Lowe’s family use a service called BorrowMyDoggy, which pairs dog owners with would-be dog sitters.
The family met Ann and a nine-month-old dog Orla.
Speaking to The Dodo, Dawson explained: “[Ann] brings her [Orla] over every Tuesday and Thursday for a few hours for Nan to play with. As soon as the dog is put in front of her, she stops and just plays. It makes her forget her worries and pain.”
The photos quickly went viral, touching the hearts of thousands of Twitter users.
Many have commented with their own stories of therapy animals, who have helped loved ones.
On user wrote: “My mum has late-stage dementia - but her face lit up when a retriever came to her care home. So did mine.”
“It’s been so nice to see her have fun,” Dawson added, in response to comments.
Dawson explained: “We used to have one of our own [Daschunds] so it brings back lots of good memories too.”