‘I held him like a baby and he fell asleep in my arms, which the rescue said they’d never seen him do before.”: A puppy's surprising calmness comforts a grieving daughter in an ICU waiting room, an experience that left a permanent paw print on her soul

Author image for Laurent Shinar
Laurent Shinar • Writer and Editor
Oct 16, 2025 10:00 AM EDT

The ways in which we hoomans interact with our four pawed friends is varied and continues to surprise. From the wolves they once were who hung out with us for the promise of food, to the emotionally intelligent and understanding creatures that they are today, our doggo buddies have come such a long way. And the story we have lined up for you today especially speaks to this subject.

For you see, while a woman was greiving, a terribly difficult time with her mother, she found herself turning to the support of a pupper. Now keep in mind this is a pupper in a shelter, not one she knew from before, not one she had a rapport with, a poor pupper who was looking for a loving home. And in their limited time together, that simple pupper offered her more emotional support and comfort than almost any hooman could have. This is the story of how they found their way back to each other.
 

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    Title: Did You Adopt "Julian" from ASAP Rescue on Penn Avenue in 2019?
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    I'll explain the story behind my question. In April 2019, my mom and I were visiting Western Pennsylvania from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. We booked a motel in Canonsburg as it was a nice halfway point between 2
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    places we'd be spending time. The only international trip I ever got to take with my late grandmother was to Wheeling Island in West Virginia so my mom and I were going to go watch the greyhound races.
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    The primary reason for the trip was to see Cher perform at PPG Paints Arena and to check another MLB stadium off our list (my mom was a HUGE Toronto Blue Jays fan and she raised me to be one as well). About 12
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    hours after arriving in Canonsburg, my mom went into cardiac arrest and never woke up again. After she was stabilized at Canonsburg Hospital, she was transferred to West Penn Hospital where she d. ' in the ICU a
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    few days later on Easter Sunday. While my mom was in the ICU, the staff asked me what I needed and I said, "A dog". They didn't have emotional support animals who came to the hospital. The hospital made
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    some calls to other local medical facilities and were unsuccessful. I went on Google and did my own research. The first animal shelter | called said they were too busy to accommodate me. I
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    RON
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    called ASAP Rescue inside Petland on Penn Avenue (which is a 10-minute drive from West Penn), I explained my situation and they told me I could come over and spend as much time as I wanted.
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  • Wow, what a wonderful move by the rescue center. For an organization that is usually so overwhelmed with work that they barely have the resources needed to get their important job done, it is truly heartwarming to see them open up their doors to a hooman in need.

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    When I got to ASAP, they asked me which dog I wanted to hang with and I said, "I'm going to have to play God when I remove my mom from life-support in a couple of days. I don't want to choose which of your dogs gets my
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    love." They brought out Julian for me who I believe was 5- months old at the time and is half boxer-half pit bull. I spent about 4 hours with him on Good Friday 2019 and another couple of hours on Easter Monday 2019 while
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    Cheezburger Image 10564318976
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  • Honestly, we are just sitting here with tears welling up in our eyes. This has to be one of the saddest and most heart-wrenching stories we have come across. But at least for a good few hours, this hooman and her new canine buddy got to have the time of their lives.

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    my mom was being cred. I would have loved to adopt Julian but it would have been too overwhelming with the pending loss of my mom. Not to mention, bringing a dog across the international border
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    would have required some special paperwork. It's been 6.5 years since I got to hang with Julian during the worst week of my life. I never would have imagined that when I crossed the border
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    into the U.S. with my mom in the passenger seat, that a week later I'd be crossing back into Canada with the urn containing her ashes on the passenger seat. With the Blue Jays headed to the post-
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    Cheezburger Image 10564318208
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    season (sorry Pirates fans), my grief is really strong again as I wish my mom was physically here to see it. I can hear her clapping and cheering and truthfully I've felt her spirit with me the past couple of days. When I think about
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    what brings my comfort when I'm feeling really emotional about my mom, I think about the time I got to spend with Julian. Julian would be almost 7 years old today. I have his picture hung up in
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    my living room. I hope he was adopted to a good home and has had a good life.
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    Next Day APurpleCow: I'm Gunther's dad! He's been an absolutely wonderful dog, the best you could ask for! He's
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    Cheezburger Image 10564318720
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    grown to about 60 pounds, and is a bit anxious and shy around new people, but once he gets to know you he's the most loving dog there is! He's the biggest, best cuddler imaginable and is so careful and thoughtful about
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    arranging his paws so he's never kicks you, and his mom and I always make sure he gets his time cuddling smushed between us every night and every morning. He has three cat siblings and he gets
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    along with them well (sometimes he even gets kisses from them and gets to cuddle with them too!). If any of the cats are in in his way at all, he'll sit and wait for them to move instead of barrelling past them. But if he hears them
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    fg, he'll sprint over there to make sure they play nice! It's so great to see your post and to see the impact he's had on other people and how amazing he was even before we got him!
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    Update Post: Title: Thank You Pittsburgh.... I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for helping me
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    to connect with Julian's a.k.a. Gunther's human. Gunther filled a hole that I didn't realize needed filling. Spending time with him both before and after my mom's dh made it easier for me to cope.
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    While the ICU Team at West Penn Hospital was also taking care of me by ensuring I was eating and comfortable, Gunther took care of me in a different way.
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    When ASAP Rescue told me Gunther was a puppy, I thought he'd be super hyper which I wouldn't have minded; I could have used the distraction. While I saw him being hyper around other dogs, he was super calm and gentle with me.
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    He wouldn't even play with his toys around me. He didn't take his eyes off of me when we were together. When I gave him treats, he didn't even give me puppy nibbles. When I was crying, he'd paw at me and give me a
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    Cheezburger Image 10564318464
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    little lick. I held him like a baby and he fell asleep in my arms, which ASAP said they'd never seen him do before. They said around me, he was the calmest they'd ever seen him. I remember saying to somebody at ASAP,
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    "I really needed him" and they replied, "And he really needed you." They said it was nice he was able to get some extra TLC and attention. I have a tattoo that says, "Coincidence is God's Way of
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    Remaining Anonymous" and I can't help but think Gunther and I were destined to spend time with each other during the worst week of my life. After connecting with 1 of Gunther's human's, I was
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    overcome and overwhelmed with emotion which is why I abruptly went silent. I've spent the past day trying to collect my thoughts and understand why I'm feeling this way. I cannot put into words the mark that Gunther left on me
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    that's remained to this day. I've never regretted not becoming Gunther's human. The thing I wanted the most was for him to find a loving home and live the absolute best possible life. While I
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    was confident ASAP would ensure that, I didn't have official confirmation until yesterday. Almost everyday since April I've either said or thought, "I wonder what happened to him. I hope he found a loving home." Since I
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    couldn't be the one to provide him one, I hoped the universe would make it happen instead. The reason why it took me years to take such a bold step to get confirmation about Gunther is because I
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    struggled to work up the courage in case his life didn't turn out as I hoped it did, which would have destroyed me. However, I got to the point where I needed to find out either way; hence my post a couple of days ago.
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like surprising baby soul puppy paw arms comfort reddit story grief calm dog story daughter falling asleep held permanent rescue
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