Whether we like it or not, there always comes a time when we have to bid farewell to our pets. Even if they just lived with us for a short time o, the feeling is equally depressing, especially since we have collected tons of memories with them. Some dedicated owners try to give as much as possible to their pets whose days are counted, and that by itself is both heartbreaking and fulfilling.
The story of an adopted husky that moved the internet to tears.
Spunky was the name of the husky that Ashley Niels adopted in 2004. Ashley was a 19-year-old university student when she met the dog at an animal shelter in northern Wisconsin, and she didn’t know at first that they were going to be together for a long time. Ashley was hesitant at first in taking Spunky home because of the dog’s rambunctiousness; she thought that she might not be able to handle such energy. However, she ended up adopting the husky pup and took her home that day.
Spunky loves two things – Ashley and snow.
While the pair was living in Wisconsin, Spunky acquired a special love for snow. Her owner claims that the dog could play in the snow for hours without getting sick of it. After four years living in Wisconsin, Ashley finally graduated. Ashley then took Spunky with her as she moved to Austin, Texas. It didn’t matter to Spunky that they were moving to a warmer part of the world because Spunky’s love for his owner was undying.
Ashley thought all is well but it was not until heartbreaking news hit her.
One day, Ashley noticed something off with Spunky. The dog had no energy and he didn’t even touch his food at breakfast. She rushed the dog to the nearest vet to have Spunky checked up. After hours of waiting, the doctor revealed that Spunky had hemangiosarcoma – an invasive type of cancer. The cancer was so severe at that point that no surgery or chemotherapy could help Spunky. The only thing that Ashley could do was let Spunky live the remainder of his life.
A community of pet lovers heeded Ashley’s call and helped her set up a perfect goodbye for Spunky.
Knowing that Spunky had numbered days, Ashley reached out to the pet-lover community in Austin. She asked for help on the internet about the promise she made to Spunky. Ashley promised to let Spunky see snow again and she was already in the state of panic writing her cry for help on the internet.
Fortunately, a group of people from the community helped her find a way to let Spunky see snow – by renting a snow machine. Ashely set up a GoFundMe account where people put their donations for Spunky’s snow machine.
By morning, Spunky’s wish came true. Ashley went out to the yard and turned on the rented snow machine.
While hugging Spunky, the green yard slowly turned into Spunky’s personal white paradise.
“It may not have been real snow,” Niels told CBS News, “but there was so much love and devotion behind what they did for me and for him. It’s pretty incredible. I can’t even fully express how much it meant to me that all these people rallied around us.”
“He has a special, ‘old soul’ quality about him,” she describes Spunky to CBS. “You don’t have to know Spunky long at all to feel it. It’s a presence. Wise and loving. Calming. He radiates a gentle knowing that just lets you know that everything is going to be all right and the world is good.”
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