Thursday, March 15, 2012

A cancer patient in the final stages of life has his last request fulfilled after animal lovers from Pennsylvania to Florida join together to make the reunion possible.

Roger Calvert with Bailey

Roger Calvert told friends and family that more than anything, he just wanted his best friend Bailey by his side to see him through the final days of his journey. The former Pittsburgh resident, now living in Florida, was visiting Pennsylvania recently and scheduled a checkup with his doctor. At the appointment, Calvert was told that he had cancer, and would only live for a matter of days.

Shocked and understandably saddened by the news, Calvert let it be known that his final wish was to have Bailey visit with him before he was gone. When Nick Petti of Family Hospice and Palliative Care heard about Calvert’s plight, he made an urgent call to ‘Pilots N Paws’, a volunteer group known for saving countless lives each year by transporting dogs to shelters and adoptive homes across the country. That call set the wheels in motion for a scramble to make arrangements to fly Bailey to PA, and in no time, Bailey took off for Pittsburgh.

“The project coordinator had emailed me saying things just lined up — that she had a pilot in Florida, and he saw the email and immediately responded to it,” Petti said.

Literally within hours, Bailey was at Calvert’s side, nuzzling with her best friend in his darkest hours, granting a dying man’s final wish before it was too late. It was a moment hospital employees say they won’t soon forget, a moment made possible by the kindness of strangers united in a common cause.

“(Calvert) was visibly relieved when Bailey was there with him,” said Petti. “This huge burden seemed to be off his shoulders, and he was more calm and comfortable that she had arrived and was there with him.”

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