Da John Weston fik den rystende diagnose, at han kun havde seks måneder tilbage at leve i, kom hans nabo med et forslag, der ville give hans liv en ny retning.
John Weston var i de endelige stadier af ALS (amyotrofisk lateral sklerose) – en progressiv nervesygdom, der påvirker nerveceller i hjernen og rygmarven.
Hans nabo og grundlægger af Muttville Senior Dog Rescue, Sherri Franklin, foreslog, at han skaffede en hund og introducerede ham for PawPaw – en ulvehundblanding.
Ikke alene var PawPaw den perfekte ledsager for John, men John overlevede tre et halvt år i stedet for kun 6 måneder – hvilket, som mange tror, hovedsageligt skyldtes PawPaw.
Foto: Facebook
De to var uadskillelige.
Organisationen skrev:
– PawPaw er altid ved siden af John og sover på sin hundeseng lige ved siden af Johns seng. Vi er alle enige om, at PawPaw forlængede Johns liv og også forbedrede hans livskvalitet!
Da John allerede sad i en kørestol, var han bekymret over, hvad der ville ske med PawPaw efter hans død, så naboen Sherri lovede at finde en ny ejer til ham.
Da tiden kom, rakte John ud til Sherri for at fortælle hende, at han ville finde et nyt hjem til PawPaw i foråret 2019. John ville møde de potentielle adoptivforældre for at sikre, at de var et godt match til hans firbenede ven.
Organisationen blev enige om, at PawPaw ville blive hos John i hans hjem i San Francisco indtil hans død.
Facebook Screenshot
I en vidunderlig video sammensat af Muttville Senior Dog Rescue for at hjælpe PawPaw med at finde det bedste hjem, sagde John:
– Jeg leder efter et hjem, der elsker ham lige så meget som jeg gjorde … og gør. Og han vil vende tilbage til kærligheden, for det er i hans natur.
Bernie Knobbe og Tim Belavich fra Los Angeles, der allerede har reddet tre hunde, hørte om PawPaw og ville møde ham.
‘Det var tydeligvis skæbnen’
John havde mødt mange potentielle nye ejere til PawPaw, men da PawPaw mødte Bernie var det lidt anderledes. De to syntes umiddelbart at synes godt om hinanden, og John vidste, at han var den rette for PawPaw.
John så dem lege og kaldte Bernie hen til sin seng. Han fjernede sit iltrør for at tale med ham.
– John lagde sin hånd på min arm og sagde bare:’ Du er en god fyr. Det er godt, fortalte Bernie TODAY.
– Det var meget følelsesladet. Alle i rummet græd. Det var tydeligvis skæbnen.
Efter at John havde fortalt Sherri, at Bernie ville passe perfekt, døde han tre dage senere.
Sherri mener, at han bare ville overleve, indtil han fandt et permanent hjem til sin elskede hund.
Adopted two years ago, Pawpaw has developed a condition in which one solution is to eat in a standing up position. Twice a day, Bernie & Tim lovingly place Pawpaw in a Bailey Chair which allows the food to get into the stomach by way of gravity. How did this happen? Bernie said Pawpaw started getting lethargic last year, he was throwing up and having accidents. He developed sepsis and his temperature spiked. After many visits to the vet, they realized his swallowing muscles in his throat were damaged and diagnosed him with MEGAESOPHAGUS, an enlargement of the esophagus– a muscular tube connecting the throat to the stomach — with a decreased to absent motility. Esophageal motility is required for moving food and liquid down to the stomach. They had a Bailey Chair bulit to fit to his body dimensions. Bernie said, "He learned how and we taught him to back up into the chair within 2-3 days after we got it, he was a quick study. He also quickly figured out to jump up in a sitting position once backed in so we can close the table which serves as a place for him to place his front paws like leaning on a bar at Happy Hour. Once in the chair, he takes 3-4 minutes to consume the full can of food. Then we entertain him for 1-2 minutes until he burps, and usually he belches as well, then he can come out of his chair similar to a baby who gets burped. Sometimes we sing to him, or I tell him the story of how we first met, relive our drive together here from his home in SF to our home in LA, etc. He gained his weight and strength back and has been very healthy and mobile ever since. He acts like a senior old soul at times, being 16 years old, and at other times he acts like a young 2 year old puppy. He naps and sleeps like a senior dog, but when awake, keeps up really well with our other 2 rescues, ages 7 and 8.We hope John is watching over Paw Paw and us and is happy with how we are caring for him and how he has settled in here in LA since we adopted him in April, 2019."Pawpaw was featured on The Dodo's Soulmates series when his first Muttville dad passed away. If you haven't seen the story of how Pawpaw was so loved by John, then Bernie & Tim, please watch! https://www.facebook.com/1660569714024008/videos/1252270268268355
– Jeg tror, at han mødte den rigtige person og endelig kunne give slip, sagde hun.
– John forlod denne verden lykkeligere.
Organisationen sluttede videoen med at sige:
– John, vi kommer til at savne dig. Pawpaw også. Men du kan være sikker på en ting. Pawpaw er elsket.
Den 16-årige hund bor nu i Los Angeles med to andre reddede schnauzere og nyder at lege med legetøj og løbe rundt i sin gård.
Hans nye familie siger:
– Vi håber, at John holder øje med PawPaw og os og er glad for den måde, vi passer på ham, og hvordan han har bosat sig her i LA, siden vi adopterede ham i april 2019.
Adopted two years ago, Pawpaw has developed a condition in which one solution is to eat in a standing up position. Twice a day, Bernie & Tim lovingly place Pawpaw in a Bailey Chair which allows the food to get into the stomach by way of gravity. How did this happen? Bernie said Pawpaw started getting lethargic last year, he was throwing up and having accidents. He developed sepsis and his temperature spiked. After many visits to the vet, they realized his swallowing muscles in his throat were damaged and diagnosed him with MEGAESOPHAGUS, an enlargement of the esophagus– a muscular tube connecting the throat to the stomach — with a decreased to absent motility. Esophageal motility is required for moving food and liquid down to the stomach. They had a Bailey Chair bulit to fit to his body dimensions. Bernie said, "He learned how and we taught him to back up into the chair within 2-3 days after we got it, he was a quick study. He also quickly figured out to jump up in a sitting position once backed in so we can close the table which serves as a place for him to place his front paws like leaning on a bar at Happy Hour. Once in the chair, he takes 3-4 minutes to consume the full can of food. Then we entertain him for 1-2 minutes until he burps, and usually he belches as well, then he can come out of his chair similar to a baby who gets burped. Sometimes we sing to him, or I tell him the story of how we first met, relive our drive together here from his home in SF to our home in LA, etc. He gained his weight and strength back and has been very healthy and mobile ever since. He acts like a senior old soul at times, being 16 years old, and at other times he acts like a young 2 year old puppy. He naps and sleeps like a senior dog, but when awake, keeps up really well with our other 2 rescues, ages 7 and 8.We hope John is watching over Paw Paw and us and is happy with how we are caring for him and how he has settled in here in LA since we adopted him in April, 2019."Pawpaw was featured on The Dodo's Soulmates series when his first Muttville dad passed away. If you haven't seen the story of how Pawpaw was so loved by John, then Bernie & Tim, please watch! https://www.facebook.com/1660569714024008/videos/1252270268268355
