This Great Dane Is Head Over Heels In Love With His New Grandma
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Studies have shown that cuddling a dog lowers cortisol, the stress hormone, and spending time with our furry friends increases oxytocin, the feel-good hormone. (One)
When we go through tough times in life, dogs provide the comfort and love we need. Kernel’s story is proof of that. Not only did he comfort the two women, but he also helped them overcome their pain. Let’s take a look at how their story began.
meeting in the forest
A Great Dane approaches an old man sitting on a bench in the woods.
While walking in the woods with her dog Kernel in Boston, Massachusetts, Alyssa meets an elderly couple named Carl and Maura. They went too.
Alice was impressed by their kindness and smiles. Kernell was going through a difficult time in his life at the time. He was battling a terminal ear infection. Cal and Maura’s date made her day and instantly cheered her up.
Kernel sat next to Cal and rested his head on Cal’s shoulder as if seeking comfort from the shoulder of an old friend. The two seem to have a close relationship. Cal didn’t mind the slob on Kernel’s shoulder, he just laughed heartily. The couple loved Kernel and he fell in love with them.
After a while, Alice saw Maura again, but this time the older woman was alone in the woods. After Maura told her that Cal had died, Alice was heartbroken and couldn’t hold back the tears. He did not expect such news. Carl’s death reminded him of his grandparents who raised him after his mother died.
Maura and Alyssa remember the day they met in the woods and how Cal laughed that day. Maura still has a recording of that laugh. It’s her last laugh.
A Forever Friend
The grief and loss both of them experienced brought them closer together, and Alyssa believes they “both mutually make each other happy in different ways.”
On Mother’s Day, Maura invited Alyssa and Kernel to dinner. Both of them were so excited to visit her for the first time. Alyssa felt that Cal would have wanted Maura to bond with her and Kernel.“This rusty bench is the last place where Maura and Cal walked together and it’s also where we met, so it kind of feels like Cal set us up.”
Alyssa owns an off-leash dog hiking company. Maura goes hiking with her and the pack once a week. She became the pack’s Grandma. Alyssa believes that Kernel and the pack gave Maura “that sense of friendship, all while giving her some time in nature.”
It’s wonderful to see how Kernel and the whole pack welcomed Maura. They gave her the love and companionship she needed, and they helped her overcome her grief.
It was as if they felt that she needed them the most. She became their forever friend and their Grandma.
