This family isn’t letting their beloved dog go out on a ruff note.
Holly Mitchell and Dylan Bradley made a bucket list for their dying pup — a golden retriever named Ted — to complete before the family says their final, heartbreaking goodbyes.
The childhood sweethearts from Glasgow, Scotland, picked up the prized pet when Holly was struggling with her mental health at age 18.
The two had always wanted a golden retriever since they seem to be the “happiest, most loving” breed.
Holly went to a breeder in March 2020 who only had one golden left — the runt of the litter that “no one wanted.”
“My heart was set… and I couldn’t bear to think of him being left behind, unloved,” she told NeedToKnow.co.uk. “Instantly, I fell in love and while he was never a typical crazy, hyper puppy, he quickly became my fur baby.”
Holly described Ted as an “old soul” who loves to cuddle and people watch and befriend dogs’ owners — rather than the dogs themselves.
Ted gets lots of love, cuddles and kisses on a daily basis, and on his birthday, he always gets presents.
Sadly, the couple noticed not long ago that their three-year-old dog’s tongue was turning blue for no apparent reason. They were also becoming increasingly worried when they noticed Ted was suddenly struggling to breathe during their everyday walks.
Concerned that their fur baby was in trouble, they brought him to the vet — who didn’t seem to find any issue — so they continued to monitor his health on their own before bringing him to a specialist.
Ted went through many blood tests, an endoscopy and an invasive operation to take fluid samples. In early 2021, he was ultimately diagnosed with a lung infection that ended up being pulmonary fibrosis.
Holly and Dylan’s big, beautiful boy was given just 18 months to live.
Pulmonary fibrosis is a lung disease that causes scarring of the lung tissue and shortness of breath, according to Cleveland Clinic.
“I was, and still am, heartbroken that I’m not going to have all the time I imagined with him,” Holly, a dental student, said. “You just assume that there’ll be a guaranteed 10 or so years with a dog, so to have that cut short feels wrong and unfair.”
She continued, “I wanted to make the most of whatever time he had left, so I came up with the idea of starting a bucket list for him.”
Since his diagnosis, Ted’s health is declining and he suffers from loss of muscle tone and extremely dry skin.
Still, he has proved all the doctors wrong and has outlived the 18-month expectation and is now making the most of the time he has, checking things off his doggy bucket list.
Holly has been sharing Ted’s final adventures to a TikTok account called @tedsbucketlist, which now has 57,500 followers. They’ve already racked up 338,300 likes on the account.
“I’ve been blown away by the love and support online, but I’d take that away in a heartbeat to make Ted better,” she admitted. “I love that everyone gets to see how amazing he is though, and they clearly love him as much as I do.”
He might not be as lively and puppy-like as before, but they’ve had no trouble getting things done, completing bucket list items such as: going to the beach, visiting a castle, going out for food, getting a puppuccino, going to brunch, making paw print jewelry, getting Ted’s paw print taken, being featured in a magazine, having a family photoshoot, going to the local shopping center and making art.
“He has good and bad days, sometimes he can manage to walk half a mile, and some days, he’d rather chill at home, but we’re taking everything at his pace,” Holly said. “But I’m devastated, as he doesn’t deserve this at all — he is the most loved and precious boy and I cried for hours when I found out his diagnosis.”
“He got me through the hardest time in my life and I couldn’t comprehend that our time together will be cut short,” she added.
Ted has also gotten the chance to meet his humans’ 10-month-old daughter Lyla who is “obsessed” with him.
“I always knew he’d be an amazing big brother, as he’s so gentle and patient with children. It melts my heart seeing them together and she’s absolutely obsessed with him,” Holly shared.
They still have more on their bucket list to do, including: staying overnight at a hotel, getting a cheeseburger, eating breakfast in bed, having a picnic, a steak dinner, camping, eating ice cream, watching a sunset, baking treats, feeding the ducks, meeting farm animals, naming a star and planting something.
But mainly, Holly is just trying to make the most of her time with the golden retriever.
“‘If you’re not a dog person, you won’t understand, but he’s literally my baby and now having had an actual baby too, I can confirm the love is the same. We’ll cherish every day we have left with our special boy.”