Catherine is an elderly woman currently being treated on an acute medical unit. She has symptoms of dementia and now has multiple health issues, one of which is allergic asthma that gives her severe breathing difficulties. Best medical advice is that Catherine should give up her cherished springer spaniel dog, Petra, as there is a risk that it will trigger increasingly severe asthma attacks.
These attacks have already resulted in trips to hospital A&E, and could even prove fatal. However, Catherine reacts very badly to the suggestion, saying that it would be like losing a child.
It is proposed that the health team insist that Petra is re-homed in Catherine's best interest