EMS rolls in the door with a CPR in progress on a 70-something year old man, his furry companion in tow. The man was walking the dog when he collapsed of a massive MI, unable to even identify the man at the time, let alone call a family member to get the dog, EMS did the best they could & brought the dog along with them. They said he gracefully rode in the front seat, periodically turning around to look back at his friend. He calmly walked behind the stretcher, his Great Dane head towering at the level of the stretcher, and when they all went into the trauma room he laid down in the corner of the room, staring at his friend. Never once did he utter a sound, not a bark, not a whimper. When the code was called and most of the people shuffled out of the room, the dog walked over to his friend and nudged his hand. Not getting any response he nudged again and whimpered. The cool hand confused him, he couldn't understand why his friend wouldn't acknowledge him. He let out a long slobbery dog sigh, then leaned his front paws on the stretcher and leaned in to give his friend one last wet slobbery dog kiss. He slowly understood; he laid down in the doorway, his head flat on the floor & stood watch over his friend's final moments while the nurses cleaned him up and packaged him up in a body bag. And as a loyal friend, he accompanied them to the morgue, where he sat in the doorway, not moving, and watched them put away the body.
That night he went home with the nurse that took care of his friend during his last hour. The man still hadn't been identified, and she couldn't bear to take the dog to a shelter; he had just lost his forever friend, she didn't want him to lose everything else too. He slept at the foot of her bed, whimpering occasionally in his sleep, but easily reassured that she was nearby.
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