Buddy is 12 years old, a senior Golden Retriever living with advanced cancer and severe arthritis.
His body has lost significant weight, and his strength has declined to the point that he can remain standing for only short periods. An orthopedic bed is available toward the back of his kennel, where Buddy could lie down and rest.
But Buddy repeatedly leaves it.
He slowly makes his way to the front of the kennel and settles near the bars, facing the hallway.
Sometimes he stays there until he becomes too tired to even hold his head up.
Buddy is being presented as a dog at risk of euthanasia. However, no exact deadline, shelter name, or location was provided, so those details cannot responsibly be invented.
What can be described is the scene staff continue to see at his kennel door.
Buddy sitting at the bars.
His forehead resting against the metal.
And eventually, his eyes closing because he no longer has enough strength to keep his head up.
Buddy Keeps Choosing the Front of the Kennel
Buddy has an orthopedic bed behind him.
For a dog with advanced cancer, severe arthritis, and very limited stamina, staying on that bed would require much less physical effort.
But Buddy continues getting up.
It is not easy.
He slowly pushes himself upright on arthritic legs and makes the short trip from his bed toward the kennel door.
Then he sits close to the bars and looks into the hallway.
There is no excited pacing.
No jumping against the gate.
No ability to stand there for long.
Buddy simply sits.
Eventually, fatigue begins to take over.
His head lowers.
Instead of walking back to his orthopedic bed, Buddy leans forward until his forehead touches the kennel bars.
The metal supports the weight of his head.