Man Reunites with His Dog 2 Years After a Cancer Diagnosis Forced Them Apart: 'Twin Flame'
“She’s always been there for me," Michael Naylor said of his dog, Minnie, "and now I can finally be there for her”
Michael Naylor, who surrendered his beloved dog, Minnie, to a local humane society amid treatment for cancer, has finally been reunited with his pet
Naylor decided to give up Minnie after his diagnosis as he saw a noticeable dip in her quality of life due to his medical condition and its impact on their daily life
Ultimately, Minnie was returned to the Humane Society by those who adopted her right as Naylor's diagnosis shifted, allowing him a second chance at life with his "twin flame" dog
After two years apart, a man and his dog have finally been reunited.
Michael Naylor has been best friends with his dog Minnie since her birth. He doesn't consider Minnie a pet, he told Today, instead calling her a "twin flame."
"We've imprinted on each other. It's weird," he said, per the publication. "I don't go anywhere she can't go."
But in 2021, his pancreatic cancer diagnosis threatened both Naylor's health and their relationship. His condition worsened quickly, he said, which made caring for Minnie progressively more challenging.
Most of the time, Naylor was unable to get out of bed. An extremely loyal dog, Minnie wouldn't leave Naylor's side — reaching the point where it began to impact her health, too.
"My mom and (my) wife couldn't even pull her out of the room to go outside, let alone go for a run or a walk," Naylor said of Minnie, according to Today. "Just wouldn’t leave my side."
With his health up in the air, Naylor began to consider what was best for his beloved dog. The life she deserved and needed, he said, wasn't what he was able to give her.
In 2022, Naylor made the painful decision to take Minnie to the Humane Society of Greater Niagara. The shelter had a program that offered 30 days of free boarding, but Minnie ended up spending nearly a whole year at the Humane Society.
“There wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t think of her,” Naylor said, according to the publication.
Naylor missed Minnie profoundly while she was in the shelter. He kept her dog tags in his pocket and drove by the Humane Society after his treatments, hoping to see his dog playing outside.
Her owner's absence was just as hard for Minnie, Briana Howard, a senior animal care technician at the Humane Society, told Today.
“Some dogs (come to the shelter and) are happy-go-lucky and don’t even really realize where they are," Howard said. "Minnie was the opposite. One thousand percent shut down, sad and reserved.”
In September 2023, Minnie was adopted, which took a heavy toll on Naylor's mental health. He stopped seeing his doctors, stopped taking his medicine and couldn't leave his room, he said.
Minnie's adopters incurred personal challenges that forced them to bring the dog back to the shelter in May 2024.
Related: Man Adopts 'Beautiful' Dog from Shelter. 4 Months Later, the Original Owners Call Him (Exclusive)
It was then that things began to look up for Naylor. He had received news he had been misdiagnosed — it wasn't pancreatic cancer but intestinal cancer. A new doctor and new treatment pushed him to regain his strength.
Around the same time, Naylor checked the shelter's site and saw Minnie's photo. When his cancer entered remission in October 2024, his first thought was of his dog.
"Something clicked in me, and I said, 'I'm getting her back," he said, per the publication.
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Naylor rushed to the Humane Society, finally ready to bring her back home with him. Their reunion brought tears to everyone in the room, Howard said.
"When I called her, her ears perked up, and she came running," Naylor said, according to Today. "There’s no words to describe that moment."
Her return home made him feel whole again, he further noted.
"She’s always been there for me," Naylor said, "and now I can finally be there for her.”
Read the original article on People
