Nothing is more devastating than losing a cherished pet, but we must occasionally say goodbye due to unforeseen circumstances. This was true for one man who was told he had cancer and had to give up his dog.

However, two years later, destiny reunited the two.

Michael Nayler of Ontario, Canada, received a diagnosis of colon cancer in May 2021. His condition quickly worsened to the point where he was unable to provide for Minnie, his English mastiff.

In an attempt to offer the dog a better life, Nayler took the tragic decision that no dog owner should ever have to make: he turned her over to the Humane Society of Greater Niagara.

“It wasn’t fair to her,” he told CBC. “She wasn’t getting her runs in and playing outside… I could see a change in her.”

Nayler’s noble sacrifice for his puppy touched the shelter. Minnie missed her owner and struggled to adapt to life in the shelter. Until Minnie was adopted one day, Nayler kept checking in on his puppy to make sure she was doing well.

Nayler believed his dog was gone forever, which crushed him and made him lose hope. He claims that he quit attending therapies after experiencing a depressive episode. “I knew there was no getting her back, so I just kind of gave up at that point,” he added.

However, that adoption didn’t work out, and she was sent back to the shelter and put up for adoption again a few months later. Given another chance, Nayler decided to recover in order to see his dog again.

“When I saw a picture of her back at the shelter, I went from bedridden to gaining some energy,” he told Newsweek. “I started seeing my doctors again and after a month, I was looking and feeling better than I had been in the last two years.”

Amazingly, his health started to get better, and two years after giving up Minnie, in October, his cancer went into remission. When he received that positive news, he immediately went to the shelter to retrieve his puppy.

For both of them, the reconnecting changed their lives. During her stay at the shelter, Minnie had been quiet and melancholy, but she soon came alive when she saw her old companion.

The adorable reunion was captured on camera by the Humane Society of Greater Niagara. For them, it was a heartwarming conclusion to a two-year-old canine in their care.

“After 750 days and a failed adoption, Minnie is back where she belongs,” the Humane Society wrote on TikTok. “She has her dad, a forever home, and a special place in all our hearts. We’ll miss her at HSGN, but knowing she’s finally home fills us with joy. Here’s to Minnie and her dad, a love that never gave up.”

Minnie has returned home in time for her seventeenth birthday. The two longtime pals have been catching up.

“When I finally got to hold her in my arms for the first time in two years, there are no words to describe that feeling,” Nayler told Newsweek. “That was the best drive home ever, and she’s settled in like she never left. Our house is finally a home again. Minnie makes any obstacle vanish just with her presence.”

“It’s just like she hasn’t even left,” he told CBC, saying that Minnie saved his life.

We’re thrilled that these two have finally been reunited after two years apart, but we can’t even begin to comprehend the anguish this man endured when he had to give up his dog while fighting cancer 🥹🙏.

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