Always a joker Danny who suffers from Alzheimers Disease turns on the clown when he sees me taking his photo. He doesn’t remember who I am anymore but he pretends he does. It’s one of the cruel ironies of the disease that it can leave the personality but takes the mind.

Danny is my sister’s father-in-law and Ben is their family dog. Danny has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and now lives with my sister and her family in Cork Ireland. It’s Danny’s job to walk Ben which he does a few times a day and when he gets lost Ben brings him home. When he’s home he’ll occasionally get on my sisters nerves and she’ll say “Danny time to walk the dog”. He won’t remember that he walked him already but he’s delighted and so is the dog. The love between these two is very strong they are together all day. Dogs are a lifeline to people with Dementia it’s a beautiful relationship. Add a loving careing family and Danny is the happiest man on earth.