A terminally ill pup got to check one item off his bucket list last week — becoming a member of the K-9 police unit.
When rescue dog Eddie was found wandering the streets of Benton City, Wash., it was thought that he’d been hit by a car.
After taking him to the vet, it was discovered that he actually had an inoperable brain tumour, rendering him blind in one eye and giving him approximately six months to a year to live.
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The appropriate response from owner Kristi Kesler was, of course, crafting an end-of-life bucket list for the rescue dog.
With the help of Mikey’s Chance Canine Rescue and Pasco Police, Eddie got to become a K-9 officer for a day.
“I thought maybe he might get his picture taken with an officer in a car. I thought maybe if he were lucky, he might go for a car ride,” Kesler told KEPR-TV. “I never dreamed it would be this big for him.”
Eddie got fitted with a bright-yellow uniform and badges to wear for his day on the police force. The dog captured hearts in a Facebook post on the Pasco Police force’s official account.
“Detective Julie Lee offered to set #K9Eddie up with a uniform and a day of patrol,” they wrote, along with two adorable photos of Eddie dressed to impress in his new uniform.
Eddie’s big day was on Sunday, when he joined Pasco officers who chauffeured him around town. The dog enjoyed some highlights of the day, like posing beside a cop car and enjoying a doughnut with his temporary colleague.
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“We believe in helping people and that also means helping animals in our community so we have all come together as a family and are all fighting alongside Eddie,” Lee told KEPR-TV.
He even paid a visit to a local Petsmart, where he received a bowl of water, a new toy and a standing ovation as he left.
At the end of his big day, he got to play in a miniature pool full of stuffed animals.
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