Terminally Ill Dog Buddy Checking Items Off 'Bucket List'

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GROVELAND TOWNSHIP, MI – Internet fame wasn’t on Buddy’s bucket list.

Just consider his celebrity bonus for an old yellow dog left with nowhere to go after his owner died and with the days of his own life running short.

Loren Cazan, an animal rescue volunteer living in northern Oakland County, took the depressed dog in after the sudden death of his owner — who had referred to the 14-year-old Labrador mix as her “lover boy — and then to a veterinarian for a health check.

Buddy has cancerous tumors throughout his body. He will probably die in a month, but not without living the famed “Life of Riley.”

The Buddy’s Bucket List Facebook page she created, which has accumulated more than 5,000 “likes” from across the United States and globally, chronicles the dog’s bucket list adventures.

Buddy went to the fire station. Cazan, who calls herself Buddy’s “Humom,” claims he wants to be a firefighter. Sure, the firefighter helmets won’t fit, but he has enough drool to put out a fire, she reasoned.

He went to Dairy Queen for ice cream and to McDonald’s for a Happy Meal. He gets to sleep on Cazan’s bed every night, and he got some serious spa treatment.

Like young pups everywhere, he met the Easter bunny. And like some old human dogs who dream of the same thing, Buddy even had a date with a cute, young thing.

The growth of Facebook fans was fueled by stories from adoring media around the world, who have not only made the dog famous, but have drawn attention to both the work done by A Rejoyceful Animal Rescue, where Cazan first encountered Buddy, and the often unmet needs of senior dogs.

“In making Buddy comfortable, happy and spoiled, I’ve noticed the smile he’s brought to so many other faces. That makes this so very worth it. Everyone should live like Buddy.”

Cazan posted that after a few days at her home, the dog mourning his owner’s death perked up.

“He is an absolutely loving and wonderful dog,” she wrote. “I know that the time here he has left is very short, but I want to get the message out about how important it is to show these animals love and compassion in their golden years.”

Loving him includes compassion for what should be done when the medication he is on no longer masks his pain.

"If he is uncomfortable, we will let him go, knowing he had a very full life,” Cazan told MLive.com.

A ReJoyceful Animal Rescue is accepting donations in Buddy’s honor. If you’d like to give, visit rejoycefulrescue.com and click on the donate link.