Operators of a special care home in New Brunswick say they have received hundreds of hateful emails after an elderly couple was forced into separate long-term care facilities just days before Christmas.

Dr. Melanie Eagon, a relative of the special care homeowner, tells CTV News they had to take down their website due to the number of comments they were receiving.

“She's getting phone calls where people are calling every name under the sun. Just being vicious," says Dr. Eagon. "It’s for (the seniors') own safety that they have their own care that they need.”

Herbert Goodine, 91, and Audrey Goodine, 89, have been married for 69 years and recently moved into the Victoria Villa Special Care Home in Perth Andover, N.B. Herbert has dementia and his health has been deteriorating

Their daughter, Dianne Goodine Phillips, was told Friday morning by social development that her father would have to be moved to a nursing home immediately.

The family’s heartbreak has been felt across the country. So far, Phillips’ Facebook post on the manner has garnered 20,000 shares.

"My point was to only get the attention that this was not fair to our senior citizens or to families to give such a quick notice," Phillips says.

Phillips says even with the changes, her father is adapting well to the new nursing home 30 minutes away. She's trying to get them a spot at the same nursing home in Perth Andover, but with a shortage of beds, they are now on a waiting list.

Jodi Hall of the New Brunswick Association of Nursing Homes says this has become a common problem.

"Our supply exceeds the demand on many occasions and the major of facilities have waiting lists,” says Hall.

Hall says the province is currently working on a renovation and replacement plan for nursing homes. She's expecting it to be released soon.

Phillips believes her parents will be back together again. She's counting on social development to make that happen.

"My mom knows dad needed help,” says Phillips. “She just said, ‘I don't understand why it couldn't have waited until after Christmas.’"

Arrangements were made to have the couple spend the afternoon together on Wednesday. Phillips plans to pick them up on Saturday so they can spend Christmas with her in Fredericton.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Mary Cranston.