Nurse Rescues Her Patient’s Dog From a Shelter After Getting a Heart-Felt Phone Call

“I will sincerely endeavor to assist the physician in his work, and dedicate myself to the welfare of those committed to my care.”

Every day, nurses take these words from Florence Nightingale’s department to heart, striving to ensure the well-being of their patients—but some, like registered nurse Jennifer Smith, are taking this commitment to care a step further.

Last November, Smith received a panicked call from John Burley, one of her patients from the Adult Day Care Program in Rome, a large rehabilitation and nursing center in New York. He was hospitalized with pneumonia, and there was no family nearby to help, his dog Boomer was taken to an animal shelter.

“I came to work the Monday after Thanksgiving for the phone ringing at 7 AM,” Smith recalls in an interview with CNN. “John was calling from his hospital room saying, ’Boomer in pounds! Boomer in pounds!’”

Realizing that the 12-year-old dog he’d had since he was a puppy meant the world to him, when Burley asked Smith if she’d take care of a Boomer, her immediate response resounded, “Of course, I will!”

The first thing Smith had to do was track down Bomer, and finally find him at the Rome Humane Society. The next day, she drove to the shelter and proceeded with the adoption process, letting Burley know that Boomer was doing well and that he would be home soon.