Man in Recovery Who Had to Give Up His Dog Has Emotional Moment With Therapy Dog

By Alessia Santoro
Sherman the Therapy Dog

Andy, who was forced to give up his large-breed dog due to his failing health, was just returning home after a three-month stay in a nursing home following multiple back surgeries when he spotted Sherman the Therapy Dog's head poked out a car window in a traffic jam. Because Sherman's family had their phone number displayed on their Suburban, Andy, who was a few cars away, gave the number a call and informed Sherman's family of his situation.

"This decision clearly broke his heart, as we could hear him choking up as he spoke," a member of Sherman's family shared with the Love What Matters Facebook page. "He asked if we could meet up sometime, so he could just pet Sherman. Of course, we told him we would love to set a time to meet up with him. He thanked us and we said our goodbyes, with a promise to set something up in the next few days."

However, with the bumper-to-bumper traffic not letting up, the family called Andy back and asked if he'd like to pull out of the traffic to meet Sherman in the nearby Walmart parking lot. They wrote:

We could hear his voice cracking over the phone when he said, 'Yes!'

When we met him in the parking lot, he slowly got out of his vehicle, using a cane. After proper introductions, we opened the side door of the suburban and told him he was welcome to sit inside the door, to visit with Sherman.

As soon as he sat down, Sherman came right over and started nuzzling into him. The tears started almost immediately . . . Andy sobbed into Sherman's neck. Sherman just sat there, letting him hug him, hold him, and kiss him.

It wasn't long before Sherman's family was also in tears over the touching moment, especially when Andy started to tell Sherman all about his dog he had to give up.

The post ends with a comment from Andy that sums up the whole heartwarming meet-up: "You're a good boy, Sherman."