A terminally ill woman was reunited with her horse one last time before she passed away.
Jan Holman, 68, was diagnosed with terminal bowel cancer a few months ago, but was unexpectedly admitted into hospital six weeks ago without having the chance to say goodbye to her horse or dogs.
She was moved to the Hospice of the Good Shepherd in Chester, where her husband of 46 years, Dennis, said the move was “such a relief” as they were allowed to have regular visitors.
“However, we never imagined that we would be able to include our dogs Monty and Rowley and Jan’s horse Bob on the visiting list,” Dennis told ITV News.
The staff at the hospice organised for the animals to visit Jan. Her bed was wheeled to the patio doors, while staff from Thornleigh Park Farm Stables, where Bob is on livery, brought him to the courtyard for their reunion.
“Until a few weeks ago, I was still riding Bob every day and he is such an important part of my life, I have missed him so much,” said Jan following the emotional visit.
“I knew that arranging for my dogs to visit was possible as we had a neighbour who was a patient at the hospice a few years ago and we were allowed to bring the dogs to visit her, but I just didn’t expect they would ever be able to give me the chance to see Bob one more time.”
Ruth Edwards, who helped to bring Bob to the hospice, said the piebald horse behaved “impeccably” as Jan fed him carrots and bananas from her bed.
After five weeks in the hospice, Jan sadly passed away. Following her death, Dennis commended the staff at the hospice for organising the reunion.
Photo courtesy of Hospice of the Good Shepherd
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