Golden retriever from "A Dog's Purpose" visits 12-year-old cancer patient

When Brooke Mulford first saw a preview for the movie, “A Dog’s Purpose,” she wished she could run to a nearby movie theater to watch it as soon as it came out.

But the 12-year-old animal lover knew that would probably never happen. She’s been cooped up inside a hospital room at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for the past few months and is too sick to leave.

The young girl has been battling neuroblastoma — a cancer that develops from immature nerve cells found in several areas of the body — for eight years, but the treatments have stopped working and the cancer has since spread.

So, when people learned on Facebook about Brook’s wish to see the movie starring Dennis Quaid, friends and strangers worked together to arrange a private screening. 

Last week, they made Brooke’s dream came true --- and it was better than she could have ever even imagined.

She was greeted with sloppy, wet kisses from one of the stars of the film — Bailey the golden retriever, also known as “Bailey! Bailey! Bailey! Bailey!”, who flew in from California to make the visit.

“He was very sweet, handsome, really handsome dog,” Brooke told CBS Philly as the dog laid in bed with her. “It was super sweet.”

Brooke’s mom thanked all of her Facebook friends for helping pull off the incredible surprise.

“Everybody coming together to even make this happen was just incredible,” Brooke’s mom, Amy, told CBS Philly.

Brooke’s mom said her little girl is in constant pain, but for those few minutes, she forgot about the pain and a large smile spread across her face.

“It was the best I’ve seen her in months,” Amy said. “And just to see her so happy, just so talkative and happy, it just did my heart really good just to see her like that.”

Along with a private screening of the movie and a visit from Bailey, Brook also received a sign copy of the book, signed by author W. Bruce Cameron. And that’s not all — Cameron also wrote the little girl a special handwritten note.

“For Brooke: I wrote this story because I believe love is eternal and that we all go on to meet again,” his note read.

Those words didn’t only warm Brooke’s heart, but they touched her mother as well.

“A comforting thought to know that somebody will be reunited in heaven and maybe not reincarnated here on earth but reunited in heaven,” Amy said.