When dog lover Riina Cooke received the tragic news that her adorable nine year old Boxer dog Romeo had incurable cancer, she was devastated. The handsome young dog had been her constant companion for years and she couldn’t imagine life without him. In fact, he’d given her so much love over the years that she decided to do something for him in return.
Inspired by tales of terminally ill humans who had written a ‘bucket list’ of things that they wanted to do before they died, she decided to do the same for her adorable dog and wrote him a fantastic list of treats, activities and fun things to do before he crossed the rainbow bridge. The good news is that Romeo stuck around long enough to do all 22!
Romeo’s first ‘wish’ was to have his very own doggy birthday party… and it came true!
Romeo’s second wish was to visit the United States: not too hard when you live in Canada and enjoy car rides!
Romeo was also treated to a dog manicure…and he absolutely loved it!
After a hard day of pampering you have to unwind with a beer, so Romeo visited a local pub with his dad. Let’s hope no one asked the nine year old for ID!
It wasn’t just about guessing Romeo’s wishes…it was about showing him as much love as possible in his final days, as well as making some new memories for his owners to remember him by.
As well as having a lot of fun along the way, like helping Romeo find a girlfriend!
Obviously, when you’re creating new memories it’s vital to throw as many parties as possible…
…as well as eating plenty of treats! Like sushi….
…gourmet burgers…
…and- of course- breakfast in bed!
After all, Riina just wanted her sweet, friendly dog to feel loved in his final days.
Romeo’s other wishes included going for a ride in a police car…
…as well as a real live working fire truck!
He also got a special doggy massage from his loving owner.
And a walk on his very favourite beach…
Sadly, Romeo couldn’t live forever and eventually it was his time to go.
But thankfully, he’d spent the last months of his life being loved and cherished and fitting a lifetime of memories into his final days. He may have been gone, but he would never be forgotten.
After losing her best friend, Riina decided to adopt another boxer dog in Romeo’s memory and named him Elvis.
Let’s hope that Elvis gets to have as much fun as his older brother Romeo. Here are Romeo’s 22 bucket list wishes in full. He got to do all of them!
1. Trip to the first park where he had walkies
2. Have breakfast in bed with dad
3. Have his first beer with dad at the pub
4. Meet a celebrity
5. Watch a sunset
6. Candle lit massage from mum
7. Have a ride a fire engine
8. Have a ride a police car
9. Spend lots quality time with my family
10. Have a great birthday party
11. Help out at an animal shelter
12. Eat a McDonald’s cheese burger
13. Celebrate New Year in style
14. Enjoy a doggy ice cream
15. Have a steak dinner
16. Enjoy a full body massage
17. Get a pawicure
18. Go on a blind date
19. Eat some sushi
20. Find myself a Valentine
21. Have lots of doggy treats
22. Visit the USA
Share this article if you’d do the same for your pet!
All images courtesy of Caters News Agency/Daily Mail
