Sheila Marsh could barely speak anymore. She was 77 years old, had terminal cancer, and had one last request before she died: to see Bronwen again, the mare she had cared for for 25 years in Bickershaw, Wigan, England.
The staff at Royal Albert Edward Infirmary did not say no.
They wheeled her bed out of the ward, through hallways and doors, and took her to the hospital parking lot, where Bronwen was already waiting alongside another horse that had accompanied her because the mare does not travel well alone.
Sheila called to her softly. Bronwen lowered her head and brushed her muzzle against Sheila’s cheek, like a farewell kiss between two who knew each other by heart.
Nurse Gail Taylor, a specialist in bereavement care, witnessed the scene. Hours later, in the early hours of November 4, 2014, Sheila died.
Her 33-year-old daughter, Tina, thanked the hospital for making that final meeting possible.
The photo, taken by the medical center’s own director, ended up going around the world.