Animals are just amazing. We have a little Boston Terrier that we got because my husband has severe depression. I was working at the time was was afraid of leaving him alone. My son said he wanted a dog and we got Cow. Cow is always following my husband every where. The need to take Cow out and care for him keeps Jorge focused when he is alone.
A year ago I noticed that Cow was always licking Jorge's ankles. Jorge is diabetic and even though now is sugar is under control, it wasn't always like that. One day we noticed that Cow was sitting in front of Jorge, facing down, and not moving. A few minutes later Jorge started to feel sick and when he checked his sugar, it was way high. Now we observe the dog's behavior and listen to him. Cow never had any special training for this. He learned by always being with his master.
I hope your grandson gets better.