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The family of a terminally ill dog vows not to regret it as they prepare to say goodbye to their beloved pet by checking off a wish list.
Katherine Lester and her husband Josh hope the wish list will help sons Kip, 9, and Mac, 5, prepare to say goodbye to their 13-year-old Staffordshire-Labrador-boxer cross, Echo, after they Tumors were found growing in his lungs at the beginning of the year.
Bejon Haswell / Stuff
Kip Lester, 9, is ticking off a wish list with his terminally ill dog, Echo.
“Although she is quite ill, she is still happy. She will still try to fetch, ”Lester said.
“As sad as it is, not everything is pessimism. I think he had a good life.
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“At the end of the day, [the bucket list] it was something for the children to enjoy and not regret. “
Lester said Echo had been a “really, really committed hog hound” before “retiring in style” at age 9.
“She was so healthy that we used to think that she would be that dog that will live forever.”
Bejon Haswell / Stuff
Tumors are growing in Echo’s lungs, but that hasn’t stopped the dog from enjoying life.
The bumps had been appearing around Echo’s body for the past several years, but when the dog developed a cough after new growth erupted on his chest, Lester knew something was different.
“I took her to the vet and they did a chest X-ray. They found some tumors in his lungs, ”Lester said.
“We could have done invasive tests for an official diagnosis, but the tumors were in a place where it was inoperable.”
The devastating news came six weeks after her other dog, 11-year-old Chopper, had to be euthanized.
A month later, New Zealand plunged into Covid-19 Alert Level 4.
Bejon Haswell / Things / Things
Echo’s wish list has included a trip to Caroline Bay and participating in Pet Day at Woodbury School.
“I was coughing a lot during the confinement. We were even planning to euthanize her, but then she perked up. “
As Echo continued to “move on”, the Lester family decided to compose a wish list for their beloved pet.
During the confinement, they took short walks near his house.
“We took her to Lake Opuha. It was kind of muddy and gross, and she thought it was cool, ”Lester said.
“Every day we were trying to walk a little more and get to the back areas and the country of deer and pigs, where you get all the smells that dogs enjoy smelling.”
When the country went to level 2, Echo enjoyed trips further afield, such as Caroline Bay.
Bejon Haswell / Stuff
Echo continues to “surprise” his family.
“He acted like a puppy, bouncing in the sand,” Lester said.
“It has been good for all of us to spend time together.”
The family also traveled to Murchison, in the Tasmania region, where they explored the terrain.
Echo’s latest adventure was attending pet day at Woodbury School with Kip, something Lester wasn’t sure the dog could do.
“We don’t think he’s doing well during the summer, with the heat and his reduced lung capacity.
But it might surprise us. She has done it all this year. “
Lester said the Echo had been x-rayed again last month, revealing that the tumors had “doubled in size.”
