AN ELDERLY man was able to spend his final days with his beloved dog after caring staff at Barnsley Hospital relaxed the rules about pets visiting.
John Baker, known as Jack, 86, was admitted to hospital having suffered a massive stroke at his home on The Square, off Raley Street in Barnsley, on July 30.
He developed pneumonia, and died on August 5.
He was devoted to his dachshund, Perry, and during his final days, staff relaxed their infection controls to allow the dog in his room.
Jack had never married and had no children, and his family said Perry meant the world to him.
His niece Georgina Shaw, 35, said: “We think he was worrying about Perry, he kept saying his name.
“When he’d been poorly in the past, he didn’t want to go in to hospital because he didn’t want to leave the dog he was very close to him.
“We phoned the hospital to get permission and explained the circumstances, Jack had no children and his dog was his life.
“Jack didn’t know we were taking Perry into the hospital, but he reached out to him and kept saying his name, he was saying ‘it’s our Perry.’
“He cried when he saw the dog, but it was happiness. He was smiling and cuddling him.
“It was peace of mind for him to see his dog was healthy and looked after.
“It gave us peace that they (the staff) had given a dying man his last wish.”
Jack had had Perry, who is five in September, since he was a puppy. Jack’s brother Steven, 68, drove him to Lincoln to pick the dog up after his previous pet had died.
“He only went one day without a dog and it killed him,” Steven said.
Georgina and Steven said they were initially told only guide dogs were allowed in to the hospital, but nurses said they would find out if an exception to the rule could be made for Jack. Within 20 minutes, staff had contacted them to say Perry could visit.
As Jack’s health deteriorated, family members took Perry three times a day for three days as a comfort.
Steven said: “They (hospital staff) couldn’t do enough for Jack, it was overwhelming. The hospital needs praising. Staff never left him alone, they came in every hour to turn him and make him comfortable.”
Georgina added: “We just want to thank them for everything they did for him and for letting us take the dog in. They were brilliant.
“I think it was also closure for Perry to see Jack, with him being at home and not knowing where Jack had gone. He knew something was wrong, dogs can sense things.”
Steven and Georgina said Jack treated Perry like a king feeding him the best chicken, steak and fish rather than dog meat, and brushed him every day.
Jack had always kept dogs, starting with collies which he showed and bred, before moving on to dachshunds.
Jack also leaves three sisters, June, Kitty and Areena. Perry is now going to live with June’s daughter in Australia.
Donna Hopkins, lead nurse on the acute stroke unit, said: “Allowing pets on to wards is not something we do often but this was a special exception. This gentleman was approaching the end of his life and his family wanted to do something for him.
“You could just tell by looking at him how grateful he was and that his little dog Perry was his whole world.”
