After learning that his 10-year-old Japanese wolf dog had just months to live, a Massachusetts mayor set out on an adventure with his furry companion that would cover 24 states — and even bring them to Canada’s West Coast.
On Nov. 2, the pair returned to the home on Vancouver Island where Mura was born.
Paul Heroux told Global News he cancelled vacation plans in the Middle East after learning Mura was sick.
Instead, he decided to take his best friend to see the place where she spent her first weeks of life.
“I wanted to bring her back to where she was born,” he said. “I wanted to see it for myself.”
Heroux said he had never met the breeder because they had sent Mura to him by plane. The dog has been with him since she was eight weeks old.
In September, she was diagnosed with terminal cancer.
They set out on their trip a month later, taking photographs and creating memories along the way.
“I didn’t set out to make a point. I just went for a ride with my dog,” Heroux said.
The duo covered more than 13,600 kilometres in just 12 days.
Some of the stops along the way included Arizona’s Grand Canyon, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and Mount Rushmore.
Heroux is mayor of Attleboro, Mass., and over the past decade, both he and Mura have become familiar figures in the city.
He said it is because of his high profile in the community that he wanted to share some of the special moments from their trip with his followers on social media.
“(We) watched the sunset in Santa Monica,” he said after returning home. “I didn’t take a picture of that because it was just too precious.”
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