A West Lothian boy was overwhelmed after being sent a series of adorable videos from Scottish police dogs.
Archie Galloway was surprised with the heartfelt message after being diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia last year at just four-years-old.
After his condition was first believed to have been a bad case of tonsillitis, Archie continued to deteriorate and had been rushed to hospital on Christmas Day in 2019.
Since his diagnosis, Archie, from Bathgate, has suffered from a series of different health conditions, including pneumonia during various different lockdowns and restrictions.
As a way to treat Archie to some well deserved attention, Police Scotland put together an adorable compilation of their best kanine companions saying hello to him.
Filmed at the West of Scotland centre on Thursday, dogs Bohdi, Billy, Heidi, Leo and Diesel made an appearance on the clips as they started work on the night shift.
According to the Record, the dogs were led by handler, Caz, and had clubbed together to 'bring him a wee smile'.
They said: "We heard that you're back in hospital, Archie and you're not feeling too good.
"So we're hoping that the dogs might bring you a wee smile."
Over the moon with the surprise, Archie was caught on camera with a huge grin as he watched all of the police dogs say hello to him and the family.
He said: "Thanks Caz, the dogs are awesome."
After a rough year for Archie, the toddler still has a long way to go with his treatment, and has now entered the maintenance stage of his condition.
Speaking about his progress, Archie's dad, 44-year-old Andi shared his amazement at his son's strength.
He said:"Archie has chemotherapy at hospital every month and gets daily oral chemotherapy at home.
"With his immune system being so weak, he's been in hospital 90 times this year alone with infections. This treatment will last for another two years.
"With the pandemic, it's been a mad time but we're getting through it."
He added: "Archie loves all animals and dinosaurs whereas Leah is mad on dogs, they loved the video.
"All of the emergency services have been amazing in reaching out, offering support and asking after Archie. It really means a lot."
This isn't the first time the emergency services have stepped up to support Archie.
Andi's fire service colleagues at Bo'ness station shaved their heads last year in solidarity with the tot.
Lisa, a 43-year-old teacher, recalled her son's terrifying decline.
She said: “Archie went from a high energy boy to being unable to climb the stairs. On Christmas Day 2019, he could barely lift his head off the couch.
"He definitely wasn’t right so Andi took him in to St John’s hospital in Livingston.
"I was at home looking after our daughter Leah when I got a phone call from Andi.
"I expected him to say that Archie was okay and it was just a bad case of tonsillitis.
"But I could tell straight away from the sound of Andi’s voice that he was upset.
"Tests had shown up what the doctor described as a blood disorder.
"Archie was blue lighted through to hospital in Edinburgh the next morning.
"He would at any other time have loved a trip at speed in an ambulance but he was too unwell to even notice.”
It was the second time the family had been touched by the disease. Archie’s grandma, Julie Hardwick was just 56 when she died on February 14, 2017 from bowel cancer.
She had lived long enough to see a 4D baby scan of Archie, who was her first grandchild, but died three months before Archie was born.
Now it was Archie’s turn to battle the disease and both Lisa and Andi were determined to be there every step of the way.
Cancer still claims the lives of around 510 under 25s in the UK every year.
For more information visit the Cancer Research UK website.
