A granddaughter's heartwarming gesture for her ill grandmother in hospital has shocked and delighted many around the world.

Shelby Hennick, 21, from California smuggled her grandmother's beloved pet into the facility, disguising it as a baby, as the ill woman wanted to see the pup.

Ms Hennick posted a series of pictures to Twitter on June 12 along with the tweet: "My grandma is in the hospital right now and wanted to see her dog. So I made it look like I was carrying a baby and we made it"

View photos A 21-year-old California woman snuck her grandmother's dog into hospital. Source: @HennickShelby/Twitter More

View photos Her actions have received mixed reactions online. Source: @HennickShelby/Twitter More

A couple of the images online show the young woman, said to be a veterinarian, with a blanket draped over the dog and perfectly positioned as if she were holding a sleeping baby.

In one picture her grandmother is lying in her hospital bed and cuddling her pooch.

The tweet shared earlier in the week has been retweeted 130,000 times and favorited more than 542,000 times.

New analytics shared by Shelby Hennick in the past couple of hours show that her post has been seen more than 21 million times on Twitter.

View photos KSDK reports Donna has had the pup for about 13 years. Source: @HennickShelby/Twitter More

According to KSDK, the 21-year-old's grandmother, named Donna, was almost paralysed after having a bad reaction to one of her medications.

The outlet reports that the woman has had the dog Patsy for about 13 years and since the visit she is doing better.

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