Owner gives cancer-stricken dog final day of happiness

HOUSTON -- How would you spend your last hours on Earth?

For Duke the dog, it was cheeseburgers, loving scratches on the back and splashing through a water park.

Jordan Greene Roberts' eight-year-old dog, Duke, was recently diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a cancerous bone tumor. The cancer had already spread. Treatment wasn't an option.

So, Roberts decided to euthanize him.

But, first, she gave him a final send-off. Surrounded by his loved ones, Dukey spent the day enjoying life. Then, he was euthanized in a park.

"You don't realize how much pain they're in until they're gone," Roberts said. "You could see it leave his body and he relaxed, and that comforts me more than anything."

Roberts' friend and professional photographer, Robyn Arouty, captured the whole day on camera.

Jordan Greene Roberts sits beside her dog, Duke, at the end of his final day. Photo credit: Robyn Arouty Photography

Millions of people have since seen the photos, sharing their own stories of loss and love.

"It's like this big worldwide group therapy session," Arouty said, "sharing stories of their pets and how they lost them."

Anyone would like to make a donation to the Montgomery County Animal Society in Duke's name can do so online or by mailing checks made out to "MCASociety" to PO Box 130448, Spring, TX 77393.