Jone Dark
Pinto, an 8-year-old Chihuahua, was dropped off at Contra Costa Animal Services in California last July in the middle of the night, injured and in pain. The poor dog was absolutely terrified, and she had a huge wound on her head.
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Pinto was taken in by Umbrella Of Hope Rescue, a California rescue that often helps small dogs with health problems. “She had an enormous abscess on the right side of her forehead,” Abby Alcamo, assistant director of Umbrella Of Hope, told The Dodo. “They drained it and set about fixing her, and all throughout this she behaved like a model citizen regardless of how hurt she was!”
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But shortly after Pinto was rescued a heartbreaking discovery was made. Pinto’s head wound was taking longer than usual to heal, and a host of other issues led vets to do an x-ray of her head — where they discovered a rapidly growing brain tumor.
Pinto was dying.
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Fortunately, Pinto was not in any pain and still had a loving and playful demeanor — so the rescue decided that they would help her do as much as she could before she passed. That’s how Pinto’s bucket list was born.
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Since then, Pinto hasn’t wasted a single day. “We’ve had people sneaking her into drive-in movie theaters, and she’s spent the day hanging out with the Moraga Firefighters,” Alcamo said. “They even let her ride shotgun in the truck and bought her a burger (her favorite food)!”
But one of Pinto’s greatest adventures so far was the day she got the opportunity to get married.
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In Pinto’s foster home, she met another sick dog named Rembrandt. Rembrandt was extremely ill with an unknown disease, but that didn’t stop the two from becoming inseparable. “It was the cutest love story, although he was in pain.” Alcamo said. “They’d snuggle and share snacks.”
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The dogs were married surrounded by their foster family and the volunteers who loved them. A week later, Rembrandt finally passed away. The rescue likes to think that he waited until he was married before finally deciding that it was time to go.
Pinto is still working on her bucket list, and is hoping to soon complete another wish soon: making sure that her story is heard.
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While no one knows how much time she has left, she’s still so full of life — and deserves to enjoy every single day that she has left to the fullest.
