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Woman crowdsources snow for dying dog's last day [1]

['Séamus Bellamy']

Date: 2025-08-21

I love my dog. She's been in my life since she was a pup. There is no sweeter, smarter, opinionated animal on the planet. She's pushing nine years old now. While I've been around death most of my life, I don't think I'm prepared for the time when she may need to be put down. I wouldn't wish that on any pet owner. Sadly, that's what happened to Amanda Hunter. Her companion of 12 years, Mack, wasn't doing well.

Mack was a 120-pound Bernese mountain dog. Mack's decline had been obvious for years. But for a long time, Mack seemed fine and, despite his slowing down, he remained sharp as a tack. When he was six, Mack tore the cruciate ligament in his leg for the first time. He tore another, three years later. Another three years on, Hunter and Mack's vet agreed that the dog's low quality of life demanded that he be put to rest. According to the Toronto Star, Hunter was devastated. But not so much so that she could push to make Mack's final days damn good ones. Mack frigging loves snow, more than almost anything. But in his condition, he wouldn't live to see the cold weather again. So, Hunter went looking for some of the white stuff. It's the very least that her pal deserved before he moved on. In a bid to somehow find her pooch the snow he adored, Hunter popped an ad up on her community's Facebook page. The response she received was overwhelming:

[Her] community quickly sprung into action with commenters going out to take photos of snow piles behind hockey rinks, offer transportation and share their own stories of grief. Hunter's two posts generated more than 3,000 reactions and over 200 comments. "I was just hoping a couple of people would answer," said Hunter, "but the bigger it grew, the more my jaw hit the floor. "It was overwhelming to see how many people were touched by the love of my life—who they never met." With the help of a couple of Zamboni drivers, Hunter and her mother loaded ice bags and coolers into her car and scooped as much snow as possible from a local rink to bring back to her house, where Mack would be put to sleep.

Mack's physical limitations kept him from romping in the snow like he did when he was a younger dog, but he had a blast in it, nonetheless. And once the snow melted away, he was treated to animal crackers, pizza, and a peanut butter cake—some of his favourite foods. It was a great final day for a very good boy.

Every time I start feeling like there's no hope left for our species, someone turns around and pulls something amazing like this.

[END]
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[1] Url: https://boingboing.net/2025/08/21/woman-crowdsources-snow-for-dying-dogs-last-day.html

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