(Judy Jaros)
One family is making sure their dog gets the best out of life – since she may have very little time left.
According to a report by KUSA Denver, Marsha is a 5-year-old American bulldog mix with a type of skin cancer that has progressed to Stage 3. Rather than give up on their pup, Judy Jaros and her husband have created a “canine bucket list” for Marsha, so that each of her days will be filled with adventures.
"We've taken her camping, fishing. She loves to play in tall grass," Jaros said. "We just decided we're gonna hike and camp. We go fly fishing. ... The only trick with that is every time my husband casts the fly she thinks my husband is throwing a ball so she goes trying to run in the river!"
A self-proclaimed cat person, Jaros met Marsha when she was volunteering as a dog walker at the Humane Society of the South Platte Valley in Colorado. According to Jaros, Marsha had been at the shelter for six months and was recovering from her very dangerous former life.
"She had so many problems when she came in: She had an infection. She had a broken toe. She had a bullet in her elbow," Jaros said.
But Marsha stole Jaros’ heart, and she and her husband brought home the pup to live with them. That was when they found out about Marsha’s cancer, realizing her prognosis wasn’t very good.
So the owners decided that their new dog would have a very fulfilled life while she’s still here.
"She doesn't act sick, so we don't think, 'Oh poor Marsha, she's a victim of cancer,' " Jaros said. "We just think, 'It's another day with Marsha. Let's do something fun.' And it's been such a blessing."