VIDEO: See This Dying, Formerly Chained Dog’s Bucket List, and Try Not to Cry

For Immediate Release:
August 27, 2018

Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382

As this new video (released today) shows, Miss Willie the dog was kept chained outside in Halifax County, North Carolina, for 12 years, and the only bright spot in her life was when PETA’s fieldworkers paid her a visit—which they did whenever they could. But one day, PETA staffer Jes Cochran arrived to find Miss Willie coughing, wheezing, and so weak that she was unable to stand. Her owner finally agreed to give her up, and Jes rushed her to the vet. Miss Willie made it through the night, but she was suffering from advanced heartworm disease and fluid had built up in her lungs, among other serious age-related ailments. She had only weeks to live.

That’s when Jes decided to give Miss Willie the bucket list of a lifetime, including a blowout birthday bash, a pizza night, a canoe ride, a massage, a trip to a fire station, and a day at the beach. For the first time in her life, Miss Willie slept inside on soft bedding after days full of fun and finally had the chance to experience joy, stimulation, and love. She died peacefully 16 days after her rescue.

“PETA is grateful to have been able to give Miss Willie a joyful final chapter after the lifetime of neglect that she endured,” says PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. “This story shows exactly why PETA is so committed to banning continuous tethering of dogs everywhere, including in Halifax County, where this poor dog languished for over a decade.”

More information about PETA’s work to help dogs and cats is available here, and more photos of Miss Willie are available on PETA’s blog.