NEED TO KNOW

• A terminally ill man in New York, who identified himself as Mr. Spencer, was able to say goodbye to his beloved German Shepherds, Bowie and Nikki, hours before his death

• The dogs were placed in the custody of NYC Second Chance Rescue after Mr. Spencer was hospitalized

• Mr. Spencer asked NYC Second Chance Rescue to promise that Bowie and Nikki would find a new forever home after his death

A terminally ill New York City man got his dying wish: to say goodbye to his beloved pets.

The man — who identified himself as Mr. Spencer — was able to say his final goodbyes to his German shepherds, Bowie and Nikki, thanks to a local rescue group, according to CBS News and WCBS.

Mr. Spencer had been a patient at Columbia University Irving Medical Center with an undisclosed disease and recently requested to see his beloved dogs one last time. The medical team at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and NYC Second Chance Rescue teamed up to make it happen.

Footage obtained by WCBS shows the special moment when Mr. Spencer was reunited with the pups. In the footage, he gently pets the pair as they approach his hospital bed.

“It was a tearjerker, seeing them get so excited to see their owner,” Jennifer Brooks, the founder of NYC Second Chance Rescue, recalled to WCBS. “They laid near his bed. We stayed for quite a while.”

After the man was hospitalized, there were no relatives or caretakers available to take custody of the dogs, so Long Island-based NYC Second Chance Rescue took over their care.

“Mr. Spencer would talk about his dogs every day, and they knew how important the dogs were to him. They were the only family that he had,” Jennifer Brooks, the founder and president of NYC Second Chance Rescue, told PEOPLE in a statement.

The organization ensured that the dogs received the level of love and attention they were accustomed to while their owner was hospitalized, and organized the final visit between Mr. Spencer and his companions.

“There was a room of about 10 doctors, and literally, there was not a dry eye in the room,” Brooks recalled to WCBS.

Mr. Spencer died a few hours after his reunion with his beloved pets, which happened last month, NYC Second Chance Rescue told WCBS.

“I believe that seeing him in that state, [Bowie and Nikki] knew they had to move on now, and they’re gonna find a new, loving home,” she added.

Brooks told WCBS that she promised Mr. Spencer she would find a forever home for Bowie and Nikki — and she is intent on making that happen. An adoption profile for the pair has since been made and describes the dogs as loyal, “affectionate” and “devoted.”

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The profile also said that Nikki and Bowie “must be adopted together” as they “are a bonded pair who bring out the best in one another.” The listing added that they “thrive” when they are together.

“They’re big dogs, so being out of the city would be nice for them,” Brooks told WCBS. “They’re therapy dog material. Every person in the hospital who went up to them, they licked their hand. They’re super friendly.”

Read the original article on People