John Vincent’s final wish was the opportunity for one last goodbye with his beloved dog, Patch. Mr. Vincent, a former marine who fought in Vietnam, was placed in a hospice facility near Albuquerque, New Mexico earlier this month. Mr. Vincent has no family living near him so before entering hospice, he surrendered Patch, a five year old Yorkshire terrier mix, to the local animal welfare department.
A hospice worker wanted to grant Mr. Vincent’s wish to see his beloved Patch one last time. Finally last Friday, a team brought Patch to the hospice facility for a final reunion. Patch was left to cuddle and spend the day with Mr. Vincent. “We left Patch there with Mr. Vincent for the whole day so they could spend one last day together,” said Adam Ricci, chief of field operations at Albuquerque’s Animal Welfare Department.
“Yeah, that’s me, that’s daddy. Are you so happy to see me? I’m so happy to see you,” cooed Mr Vincent as Patch smothered him with kisses. Mr. Vincent chose Patch when a neighbor’s dog had a litter of puppies. “He was the smallest, and I wanted one who could ride on my bike. The only hair I had was on my chin, which was called a patch. And he had a little white patch, so we were the patch brothers,” explained Mr. Vincent.
The two shared many adventures on Mr. Vincent’s Harley-Davidson. Patch road with his own special pair of tiny goggles. After Mr. Vincent retired, he and Patch took long walks through the city every night. Mr. Vincent summed up his time in the military with a smile while looking at Patch, “I always went where the best went.”
Upon learning of this beautiful story, many people across the country expressed a desire to adopt Patch. Everyone who witnessed the final reunion between Mr. Vincent and Patch assured Mr. Vincent Patch “will get a wonderful home.” According to the Albuquerque Journal, Patch is spoken for and has a home waiting for him.
Source: Albuquerque Journal