A Bedside Visit From His Beloved Dog Sparks Hospitalized Man’s Recovery

A one-eyed Chihuahua turned out to be the perfect remedy for a hospitalized man in Kentucky!

73-year old James Wathen had been hospitalized for several weeks at the Baptist Health Corbin Hospital when he took a turn for the worse. He stopped eating, could no longer sit up, and could barely speak.

Wathen mentioned to a hospital worker that he was missing his dog, Bubba, who he hadn’t seen since being taken by paramedics to the hospital several weeks earlier.

Nurses scrambled to locate Bubba, who had been placed in the care of a foster family through a local animal shelter.

Turns out Bubba was missing his dad just as much! The dog had stopped eating and wasn’t acting himself.

Nurses and shelter workers arranged for Bubba to visit James in the hospital – and the reunion was remarkable! Both were happier than they’d been in weeks. After a 30-minute visit over the weekend and another visit a few days later, both were showing signs of improvement!

“He’s done a complete turnaround. He’s speaking, he’s sitting up, he’s eating. He doesn’t look like the same guy,” shelter president Mary-Ann Smyth told TODAY.com. “And the dog is eating and doing better now, too.”

So it stands true, man’s best friend is sometimes the very best remedy.