A delighted care home resident has spoken of the ‘total miracle‘ of being reunited with her pet dog.
Diana Darlington, 82, relocated from Kent to Cheshire to be closer to family after the death of her husband, Roy. She made the heartbreaking decision to leave her dog, Jak, behind with a relative when she moved into Redwalls Nursing Home in Sandiway.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, who was born in Moulton and lived in Sandiway with her husband before moving to Wales and then Kent, 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?INTERESTING FACT ABOUT YOUR PET: A study at UCSD claims that your dog can genuinely get jealous when they see you display affection for another creature.
‘I feel happiness on top of happiness.
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‘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.’
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 TikTok – 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.Help your pet be the best pet he can be. Train your pet by setting him up to succeed. There’s a reason for everything your dog or cat does, and the reason rarely if ever involves being deliberately disobedient.
‘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.
He even has his own special dog bed in Diana’s room.
Sarah, of nearby Hartford, said: ‘As soon as I heard about Jodie looking to home Jak closer to Diana I just thought, “I’ll have him.”Use Covers to Keep Your Furniture Fur Free. Do you allow your pets on the furniture? If you do you’re well aware of how hard is to keep them clean. My favorite tip for keeping your furniture clean and fur free is to use a cover. You can use sheets, blankets or slip covers — and if you want something to match your decor you can get them custom made. When it’s cleaning time you just throw those covers in the wash & you’re good to go.
‘I’m local so I can pop to Redwalls any time and the difference it will make to Diana is immeasurable.
‘So much so, my children and I travelled to Kent the next day to collect Jak and the reunion was so happy and emotional that I knew I had made the right decision.’Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected] .
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