This terminally sick dog is ticking things off his fun-filled bucket list one experience at a time as he approaches the end of his life.
Theo, a foster dog from Illinois, is making the most of his last days by marking off items on his bucket list, as Jenny Leech of Illinois documents in a compilation of postings and images posted on Facebook.
The golden retriever was discovered abandoned in a Walmart parking lot on May 27 and taken in by Leech’s family as an end-of-life hospice foster, according to a Facebook post. Leech’s family described the situation as follows:
Theo has “huge tumors throughout his body,” and he has been diagnosed with “testicular cancer that has spread to his prostate and his belly,” according to his doctor.
In Leech’s words, “despite everything he is lovely, cheerful, and loving, and he has a tremendous enthusiasm for life.” “His bucket list was designed in order to provide Theo with the opportunity to experience incredible things and receive enormous quantities of love.”
Despite the fact that his new owners are unsure how much longer Theo will live, they are determined to make the time they do have together filled with unforgettable events. (While Theo is not suitable for surgery owing to his advanced age and disease advancement, he is on medicine to delay the cancer’s future spread and manage his discomfort.)
“We will be there to let Theo go if we witness greater discomfort, lack of appetite, less pleasure, or more terrible days than good,” Leech stated in an email. “For the time being, we are taking things day by day and attempting to make each day the best day possible for him.”
So far, what kinds of bucket list adventures have they taken part in have they shared? Theo spent a day at the beach, went to a drive-in movie night, ate some scrumptious meals (drive-thru burgers and a steak supper! ), and even went on a blind date with his dog. In addition, he was inducted as an honorary K9 member of a local police force.
And Leech is open to suggestions for bucket list items from the tens of thousands of people who have been following Theo’s exploits.
In response to the outpouring of support from strangers, Leech told WHTM that “people began providing bucket list items.” ‘Someone offered to take him out on the water in a boat, another offered to take Theo for a trip in his Mustang convertible… it was quite beautiful.’
On a daily basis, Leech and her family work hard to ensure that Theo (and his pet octopus stuffed animal friend) may cross another item off his bucket list. The kind foster carer expressed her hope that his trip would bring pleasure to individuals who are following their progress on social media.
“I think he came for a specific reason,” she said. “I believe that people are yearning for goods and methods to feel happy, and he is providing them with that opportunity.”
