Coming down with the flu is no walk in the park but sometimes the right companionship can go a long way in making a person feel better. Who says that a companion needs to be another human?

Young Dawson came down with the flu for the first time earlier this year and, according to his parents Bryan and Chelsea, didn’t want anything to do with them when they tried to comfort him.

But that wasn’t the case when it came to one of the family pets. The photo above of Dawson and his dog Riddick caught the attention of The Dodo earlier this year and was also shared by well-known dog behaviorist Cesar Milan, which led to it going viral.

Riddick was rescued in 2015 by Rescue Dogs Rock NYC after being thrown out of a moving car. After he was given some time to heal, he was put up for adoption, and it wasn’t long before Bryan Junior and his wife came across his picture on Facebook and fell in love.

They adopted him in August of that year, and he immediately became an incredibly important member of their little family.

About a year after Riddick was adopted, his parents had a baby boy, and from the moment Dawson arrived home, Riddick and the family’s other pit bull, Cambria, were absolutely obsessed with him.

“We would call them the paw patrol,” Junior told The Dodo. “If the baby cried, the two of them would come running inside to check on him. Every time he woke up from a nap we would say, ‘Baby Dawson is awake,’ and they would run in.

They sit with us every night to this day when we read him a bedtime story, Cambria usually on my lap and Riddick on the floor. Dawson kisses them both good night and we put him to bed.”

But going back to Dawson’s bout with the flu earlier this year, it was Riddick who he looked to when he was sick.
Recently, Dawson came down with the flu; it was the first time he had ever been really sick. He was running a fever and generally felt miserable, and wanted absolutely nothing to do with anyone or anything — except for Riddick.

According to Junior, Riddick was sitting on an ottoman and Dawson climbed up and laid with him and he was able to capture the moment. The dog stayed and never moved for the hour-long nap that the sick boy so desperately needed.

Riddick was the only one Dawson wanted to comfort him while he was grumpy and flu-ridden, and, of course, Riddick was happy to oblige. No matter what Dawson needs, Riddick is always there, and their parents love watching how sweet and protective Riddick is with his little brother.

Of course, when Dawson recovered and was feeling better, it was back to playtime with his two buddies Riddick and Cambria.

Even when he’s healthy and happy, though, Riddick will always be there for him, watching over him and loving him as only a dog brother can.