A terminally-ill dog has enjoyed a final play in the snow after his owners created a “bucket list” of experiences for him to enjoy before he dies.
Six-year-old Angus, a Bernese mountain dog, is suffering from liver cancer and has been given about a month to live.
His owners Dawn and Allan Birse decided to make sure his final weeks are happy ones and have drawn up a bucket list of 15 things for him to do.
Today, he enjoyed frolicking in the snow at Snow Factor Braehead near Glasgow.
He has also ticked off experiences including staying in a hotel in Dervaig on Mull, watching sunset at Calgary Bay on the island and meeting a famous person in the form of Karen Dunbar.
Mrs Birse (34) said: “We got a shock at the vet’s as we didn’t think he had anything so serious and we were absolutely heartbroken.
“Angus has always been at the centre of everything we do and our lives revolve around him.
“He comes on holiday with us and we bought a house with a big garden for him to play in.
“He has had such a happy life and we want the rest of his life to be happy, so we wrote a bucket list and decided we want to be as positive as possible.”
Dog beer
Angus has also enjoyed a vanilla ice cream cone and a swim in Loch Lomond, and has other treats to look forward to in the form of a dog beer his owners have ordered and a date with his girlfriend Molly.
Mrs Birse, who lives in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, and has an eight-month-old daughter, said that Angus has been enjoying his experiences.
She said: “He is such a happy dog and is still happy, he just gets very tired and won’t eat his food.
“He got a wee burst of energy in the snow today and is still quite excited about things, but is just not his usual energetic self.
“Anyone who has a dog knows how much part of the family they are. It’s very difficult.”
Earlier this month, a dog in Manchester had a similar experience when she had a chance to play in the snow a final time.
Six-year-old Sophia, a cancer-stricken St Bernard dog, was taken to the Chill Factore indoor ski centre in the city as her owner attempted to give her the perfect send-off.
Alyson Page (31) decided she wanted to give her pet the chance to play in the snow after Sophia was diagnosed with bone cancer two months ago and took her to the slop just hours before she was due to be put down.