Therapy Dog Stuck In Traffic Jam Helps Man Who Really Needed a Hug
When it comes to making people feel better, Sherman the Therapy Dog has a lot of experience. The 2-year-old, 230 pound English Mastiff regularly visits senior community centres, people with special needs and homebound patients. But Sherman recently gave comfort to someone who needed while stuck in a traffic jam in Longview, Washington.
Sherman’s human, Sherry McAllister shared this touching story on Facebook, which is now going viral.
It all began when a man spotted Sherman and his “big ol’ head” sticking out of the car window while they were waiting for traffic to move.
“We were stuck in a huge traffic jam for about 15 minutes, without moving, when my phone rang. Since we obviously weren’t going anywhere, I answered. On the other end of the phone was a soft-spoken man who introduced himself as, Andy,” wrote Sherry.
“He explained he was a few cars back from us, and saw Sherman stick his big ol’ head out the window, so he called the number on our decal (we have a huge decal on three sides of the suburban with a picture of Sherman’s head, his name, and our contact number). He told us he had just returned home after a 3+ month stay in a nursing home facility. He was recovering from the most recent of multiple back surgeries.”
“It’s because of this stay in the nursing home and his failing health that he had to rehome his large breed dog. He is, sadly, unable to care for him any longer. This decision clearly broke his heart, as we could hear him choking up as he spoke. 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.”
“As we sat there in traffic, I couldn’t get Andy’s sad voice out of my head. We decided to call him back and ask if he would like to turn off into the Wal-Mart parking lot to say, ‘Hello’ to Sherman real quick. 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 we were all pretty teary-eyed, as he told Sherman all about his dog he had to let go.”
‘You’re a good boy, Sherman.'”
What a touching story. Sherman is a wonderful dog. Not only is he helping complete strangers feel better, he’s helping his mom as she fights cancer.
You can see more of the amazing therapy work Sherman does on his Facebook page, Sherman the Therapy Dog.
Sherman also has his very own calendar available through Amazon and a book too.
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