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Chester the Dying Dog Gets a New Family and a Bucket List

Written by: Dogster Team

Last Updated on February 16, 2024 by Dogster Team

man in blue shirt hugging black and white short coated dog

Chester the Dying Dog Gets a New Family and a Bucket List

The title of the post on Facebook was “hospice needed,” and the little dog with cancer just needed a home to die in.

“Chester is the sweetest little guy, and we are looking for that special someone that would let him live out his life in the comfort of a home,” Animal Ark Rescue said, according to BuzzFeed.

Nicole Elliott saw the post and decided to make the little dog’s final days ones to remember. She told BuzzFeed that she was “so charmed” by the dog she wanted to “try to make his remaining days full of love and fun.”

So: Bucket list. Not the biggest one. Just one that would make her little dog happy.

“It will be so tough to lose him shortly, so I decided to take the time he has left (which is undetermined, but not guessed to be very long) and make it as happy as I can,” she wrote on Facebook.

Sweet boy #chestersfinaljourney #bucketlist #rescuepup #animallovers #finalride #cancersucks? A photo posted by Nicole Elliott (@chestersfinaljourney) on

Elliot said that the bucket list is not a fixed thing; she’s just trying to make her dying dog happy.

“I never compiled a list. I’ve just gotten some ideas of things I can take him to do,” Elliot told ABC News. “He’s playful at times, but I’m sure with the age and the cancer it slows him down. He is just very sweet and he soaks up any love that you give him.”

“We bought new toys, a bed, bandanas, and treats,” she said. “I also want to take him on a boat ride, to the beach, and to have professional photographer take pictures of him. I want to have them [the photos] after he’s gone.”

Couch cuddles for the rest of the night ?

A photo posted by Nicole Elliott (@chestersfinaljourney) on

More than ever, though, it is about helping senior dogs like Chester have a good end of life.  “I was so nervous, but happy to help spread awareness about dogs like Chester,” she told BuzzFeed News. “I hope through all of this attention that it shines a positive light on shelter animals with terminal illnesses or [who are] up in age.”

Chester’s shopping spree! #chestersfinaljourney

A photo posted by Nicole Elliott (@chestersfinaljourney) on

“That was my main goal: to inspire and encourage people to adopt shelter animals that people are less likely to adopt, like older ones and the terminally ill,” Elliot told ABC News. “There are so many people that say animals don’t have souls like humans, but I feel like anybody who met Chester would see he does have a soul. He has already fallen in love with me. He follows me everywhere.”

 

Check out more of their adventures on Instagram.

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Featured Image Credit: Cynthia Smith, Unsplash

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