Police in an Ontario town chipped in this week to help an elderly man recover his wedding ring, which he'd been forced to sell in order to buy groceries for him and his wife.

Officers were called to a home in Cornwall, Ont. for what they thought was a domestic dispute. Instead, they discovered that the woman at the home was suffering from dementia, and her husband had pawned his wedding band.

Heartbroken by the scene, the officers who had taken the call came up with a plan to help the man get his ring back.

"We put money together, and found out where he did sell his wedding band, and we bought it back," said Sgt. George Knezevic. Police also collected food for the couple.

The elderly man had sold his wedding band, which he'd worn for more than 50 years, in downtown Cornwall. He had been trying to raise enough money to pay for food.

Later that week, police delivered a load of groceries – and the ring.

"They have an inscription on the wedding band that says 'together forever,' so when we got the wedding band back, I don't think there was a dry eye in the station at all," said Knezevic.

The couple has since been in touch with the Alzheimer Society of Canada, which provides support to people living with the disease.

With a report from CTV's Katie Simpson