CLERMONT, Fla. – Ever since an 11-year-old Pug named Beefy was diagnosed with an untreatable cancer in December, his mom, Jennifer Lutes, has been trying to find ways to make his last few months on Earth memorable.
What started as an idea to get a cup filled with whipped cream from Starbucks turned into a whole day of stops, with the community rallying behind Beefy.
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"We wanted to make a memory with Beefy, one that really showed his spirit and love of going on adventures. We have lots of stories of him getting into trouble," Lutes said.
Her original plan was to choose about five stops.
Lutes posted on the Clermont/Minneola Facebook page that she was looking for places with pup treats or pup menus. Her list quickly grew to about 20 stops, with even more as the day went on.
Here's the list of stops Beefy made:
1. Headquarter Mazda
2. Doctor’s Weight Control
3. Petco
4. Starbucks
5. Lowe’s
6. Home Depot
7. Pet Supermarket
8. Bangz Hair Design
9. Insight Credit Union
10. Atlas Pet Clinic (Steak & Shake delivered)
11. Beef o’Brady’s
12. Girl Scouts Troop 1887 Cookie Booth
13. Tractor Supply
14. Ace Hardware
15. Pizzano’s Pizza
Some places don't seem like a typical spot where a dog would go, but Lutes says Beefy visited them because the businesses reached out to her and asked them to stop by.
Lutes said they only got to make 14 stops Saturday, with a break in the middle of the day. After an hour-long nap at home, they packed Beefy some towels, water and his stroller, so they could continue on with their day.
They completed the 15th stop on Sunday. Lutes said Beefy was tired by the end of his crawl.
Some of his day of treats included a steak burger from Steak & Shake, a bone-shaped pizza, a doughnut, and a personalized dog bowl with sausage and bacon. Of course, Beefy also got some ice cream. Lutes said her family was touched by the act of kindness from the community.
"A little senior pug with cancer proved that there’s more good people in the world than not. The lengths that people went to in order to show love to Beefy were truly extraordinary," Lutes said.
Lutes said she met Beefy 10 years ago when she saw him tied to a tree in someone's front yard. She said she knocked on the door of the house and they gave her Beefy right away.
When we asked Lutes and Beefy if they would do the pug crawl again, Lutes said no, but Beefy seemed to have other plans in mind.
Check out more photos of Beefy's "pug crawl" below.
