Family Dog Helps Man With Alzheimer's Regain Speech

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By Neha Prakash2014-04-26 20:20:39 UTC

Charles Sasser of Albuquerque, N.M. has become nearly mute in the past year due to Alzheimer's, a degenerative brain disease that he was diagnosed with five years ago.

But his family was pleasantly surprised to see that Sasser's interactions with their dog Roscoe helped him briefly regain the ability to piece together full conversational sentences.

Sasser's daughter Lisa Abeyta told ABC News that one conversation she recorded went on for almost an hour (she later edited it down for the video, above). This was the first time their family had seen Sasser communicate with such interest and liveliness.

Abeyta captured the sweet moment between her father and the family dog, posting it to Reddit and YouTube. The uplifting moment instantly went viral, attracting almost 800,000 views in two days.

At the end of the video, Abeyta writes, “If your parents can still talk to you, please listen. You never know when will be the last time.”

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