‘Now He’s My Adopted Grandson’: Officer’s Kindness Leaves Woman In Awe

August 9, 2025

On one of the hottest days of summer in Wyandotte, Michigan, Officer Jonathan Cox and his K-9 partner, Jax, were patrolling residential streets when something unusual caught his eye. An older woman was pushing a lawn mower with one hand while steadying herself with a walker in the other.

Officer Cox and Dory / Wyandotte Police Department

Cox stopped immediately and spoke with her. The woman, Dory Oliver, explained that she didn’t have anyone to cut her grass. She had even called several companies, but no one ever followed through. Yard work, she admitted, had become nearly impossible because of her mobility issues.

“When you’ve worked all your life… and then, suddenly, you can’t, it’s not a good feeling,” Oliver said. “Three different times somebody said, ‘Yeah, I’ll be there to help you,’ and nobody ever came.”

Cox told her to head inside and assured her he would take care of it. After finishing his 12-hour shift, he returned — without Jax, who went home for a nap — and got to work. The task was bigger than expected. The grass was overgrown, storm debris littered the yard, and gutters needed cleaning. Over two days, Cox transformed the property.

Oliver was deeply moved.

“What a blessing it was – not only professionally, he would be there for me if I needed him but just out of the kindness of his own heart and the willingness to help someone,” she said.

She even called the police chief to share her appreciation and personally brought donuts to the station.

“I’m just still in awe of what he did for me. He doesn’t even know me. He just took care of what was impossible for me because I can’t walk without the walker. I just have to commend him, and I thank him so much.”

Cox, an eight-year veteran of the department, downplayed the praise. “I’m very blessed in the position where I’m at, whether it’s personally and/or professionally, to help others,” he said.

The kind gesture left Oliver feeling like she’d gained more than just a neat lawn.

“I didn’t know this young man at the time, and now, he’s my adopted grandson,” she said. Cox plans to keep helping her maintain the yard in the future.