Heartbroken Man Takes His Terminally Ill Dog On An Unforgettable Bucket List Adventure

A heartbroken man has taken the terminally ill dog he has owned for the last 15 years on a bucket list adventure from coast to coast in a bid to make their final weeks or months together unforgettable.

Thomas Neil Rodriguez adopted his mixed-breed pet, Poh, from an animal shelter in New York City in December 1999, when the dog was only eight weeks old.

But earlier this year, veterinarians found two 'very large' tumors growing in the canine's abdomen which were deemed inoperable. They told his devastated owner that he would not live much longer.

So, in order to make the most of the time he had left with Poh, Mr Rodriguez decided to take his pet on a cross-country adventure - and create a bucket list of experiences that they would do together.

He purchased a green 'buggy' to push Poh around in when the dog struggled to walk or got tired.

At the beginning of March, Mr Rodriguez, his fiancée and Poh set off from their snowy Queens home and traveled by car to Baltimore, Maryland, where Poh slept in his own queen-size hotel bed.

Next, they drove to Nashville, Tennessee, where Poh indulged in some BBQ food, before visiting Memphis, where the dog joined tourists paying tribute to Elvis Presley at the Graceland mansion.

Over the next seven weeks, the trio traveled around 12,000 miles to 35 U.S. cities, including places in North Carolina, Texas, Oregon, Arizona, Washington D.C., California, and Nevada.

However, they were recently forced to return home after 15-year-old Poh became too ill to continue traveling. Now, Mr Rodriguez tries to make life in New York as enjoyable as possible for his pet.

Speaking to ABC, the devoted owner said: 'I'm unsure of how long [Poh will live]. Doctors are unsure. My assumption is that I don't have very long with him and that's what prompted the trips.'  

He added: 'I got to spend seven weeks with Poh. At first, I did not think he'd make it two weeks, but he did. I am super blessed. People think I take care of Poh, but Poh takes care of me.'

During the trip, Mr Rodriguez took to Instagram to document Poh's experiences, regularly posting photos of the dog in an array of fascinating places with the hashtag, '#pohthedogsbigadventure'.

The page now has more than 3,000 followers.

On March 5, the owner posted the first image of Poh to the site, in which the dog can be seen peering out of the window of a car, his tongue wagging and his eyes wide, ready for the adventure.

Alongside the image, Mr Rodriguez wrote: 'Hi everyone, my name is #pohthedog.

'I look like a pup but I'm 15 years old, 105 in dog years, and although I am young at heart and my mind is willing, my body is going through the natural process of old age.

'My parents found out that I have a couple of very large tumors growing in my abdomen which are inoperable. So my dad @djneilarmstrong decided to give me a bucket list trip across the good old US of A... traveling from #nyc all the way to the west coast, from sea to shining sea.'

Over the past two months, Mr Rodriguez, his fiancée, known only as Goumada, and Poh have visited Breaking Bad's Walter White's house in New Mexico, and The Goonies' home in Oregon.

Poh has also had the chance to swim in the Pacific Ocean. 'I have always wanted him to swim,' Mr Rodriguez said. 'He loved it, it was so healing for him. It was like he was five years younger.'

And the trio have visited the Hollywood Walk Of Fame in Los Angeles, California, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, a theme park in Santa Monica, and closer to home, Times Square at night.

However, it has not all been plain sailing. Toward the end of the adventure, Mr Rodriguez wrote on Instagram that Poh had suffered from a 'really bad seizure that caused him to 'cry out in pain'.

Mr Rodriguez said his job enables him to travel around a lot, making the trip easier to organise. 'I'm always traveling, but Poh is my home. I think this resonated with a lot of dog owners,' he said.

The trip 'was a little bit for him, a little bit for me,' he added.


Source: https://instagram.com/pohthedogsbigadventure/