Every pet owner knows the day must come.
The day when the beloved companion dies or is put down. But a man in rural Virginia went a step further before the inevitable and played grave digger while letting his best friend watch.
The tale, retold by writer Franklin Hardy, about his dad’s dog’s brush with death in a series of tweets has the internet at once gutted and relieved.
“The vet told my dad on the phone (??) that his dog had to be put down and he’d come to his house and do it,” Hardy tweeted. “My dad dug the dog’s grave AND LET THE DOG WATCH.”
Which all seems rather morbid.
The vet told my dad on the phone (??) that his dog had to be put down and he’d come to his house and do it. My dad dug the dog’s grave AND LET THE DOG WATCH. Then the vet came and checked the dog and said it was a false alarm. Oops! Dog’s fine! Everything about this is insane. pic.twitter.com/sFXKVDk5Vz
— Franklin Hardy (@franklinhardy) April 18, 2019
But in the 11th hour came relief for the Golden Doodle.
“The vet came and checked the dog and said it was a false alarm. Oops! Dog’s fine!” Hardy explains.
Hardy was a bit baffled by the over-the-phone diagnosis.
Why would the vet sentence the dog to death over the phone? No idea. Told my dad he doesn’t sound like a very good vet. Dad: “he’s a great vet!”
— Franklin Hardy (@franklinhardy) April 18, 2019
It also seemed a little weird to let the unwitting pooch bear witness to such a grim task.
Re: letting the dog watch the grave digging, my dad: “It didn’t seem to bother him. Was a little hard on me though.”
— Franklin Hardy (@franklinhardy) April 18, 2019
Also-sorry- now I can’t stop laughing at the fact that someone took photos of your dad digging his dog’s grave
— Christine Nangle (@nanglish) April 18, 2019
By hey, country life.
What can I say? Life in rural Virginia guys.
— Franklin Hardy (@franklinhardy) April 18, 2019
The dog is totally fine.
Doing “famously,” in fact.
See.
Since people are asking, my dad says the dog is doing “famously.” Here he is: pic.twitter.com/Z0taA21YaL
— Franklin Hardy (@franklinhardy) April 18, 2019
And people are finding something to laugh about in the end.
Dog:
TODAY WAS SO AWESOME WE DUG A BIG HOLE I DIDNT EVEN KNOW WE WERE BOTH INTO DIGGING HOLES WE HAVE SO MUCH IN COMMON— S.I. Rosenbaum (@sirosenbaum) April 18, 2019
Photos @franklinhardy/Twitter
