The pair first started visiting the homes back in June.
An Ohio man and his 92-year-old grandmother have teamed up together to spread joy to those with Alzheimer’s. How? With puppies.
Ross Smith and his grandmother, known as “Granny,” have a large YouTube following for their funny videos, but now they're using their influence to do something nice for the holidays.
The pair is visiting senior homes with puppies to cheer up those who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Just recently, for Thanksgiving, they visited a senior living facility in Ohio with puppies lent to them by a local Petland.
“We decided to dress the puppies up as pilgrims and pumpkins and turkeys and all these cute little things,” Smith told InsideEdition.com. “I found out that people with Alzheimer's and dementia listen to music very well, and they perceive comfort animals very well."
Smith said at all the places they’ve visited, it seems like the animals really brightened the mood.
“It was like night and day. ... Once we gave them these puppies, it seemed like they had their memories back, and it was an amazing feeling for us,” Smith said.
The pair visited their first facility back in June and have decided to keep going.
“It’s very important because I see the smile, I see the joy that lights up in their eyes and it’s rewarding,” Smith said.
Now the duo has partnered with a Chicago pillow manufacturer to give the seniors pillows with the pictures of the puppy they were holding so they could hold onto the memory of the day.
When handed the pillows, Smith said, “Their reactions were almost as good as when they were holding the puppies, so it made us feel good that we could leave something.”
They plan to continue the visits for the foreseeable future.
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