Filling a dog’s final days with love

Macchiato looks like any other dog living their best life in NYC. During her regular trips to the park, she’s chasing tennis balls and romping around with her canine pals. Back at home, she’s chewing on her favorite toys, eating tasty snacks, and soaking up love from her foster family.

“She’s at our feet when we’re watching television, and we’re rubbing her belly,” says Mo Hussain, who is now fostering Macchiato for a second time. “She’s just such a sweet dog.”

But Macchiato’s life has come with challenges. Most recently, this bright-eyed girl was diagnosed with inoperable cancer. However, her diagnosis wasn’t an ending; it was the beginning of a new chapter that was beautiful in its own way.

Macchiato first came to the Best Friends Pet Adoption Center in New York from a city shelter. The 9-year-old pup with fur the color of a milky latte was incredibly thin. Despite whatever she’d been through, she couldn’t have been more friendly or gentle.

Mo, who has an affinity for fostering pit bull terrier-like dogs, welcomed Macchiato into his home. Mo and his family gave her endless affection and nutritious meals that helped her gain weight. Before long, she was adopted. But several months later, Macchiato’s adopter had a change in life circumstances and could no longer care for her. Heartbroken, he returned her to the pet adoption center.

Back at Best Friends, Macchiato was the same good-natured dog she’d been before. But this time, staff members discovered a concerning abscess on her neck. They arranged for her to see a specialist right away.

Lab tests, an X-ray, and an ultrasound confirmed the worst: Macchiato had stage 4 lymphoma. The cancer had spread, and there was no treatment that could fix it.

Faced with this difficult news, Best Friends staff needed to decide what Macchiato’s next chapter would look like. No one knew exactly how much time she had left, but they did know that she deserved to be surrounded by comfort and love in a home — and they knew exactly who to call.

The team asked Mo whether he and his family would be willing to foster Macchiato again and provide hospice care. (In animal welfare, it’s sometimes called “fospice.”) Mo admits he had reservations about fostering a pet with a terminal illness, especially with the emotional toll it would take. But his passion to help dogs guided him, and he stepped up to foster Macchiato.

Mo and his family are determined to make Macchiato’s remaining days as joyful as possible. “As they say, make the rest of her life the best of her life,” he says. And that’s what they’re doing. Every day, Macchiato gets to go outside to play and feel the sunshine on her face. Plus, she has the constant companionship of people who adore her.

"As long as you're with us, we're going to try and do everything we can to make sure that tail's wagging and that you're smiling,” says Mo. “It just fills my heart to the point where it feels like it’s going to burst.”

[Making bucket list items come true for pit bull terrier with terminal cancer]

However, as anyone who’s cared for a pet with cancer knows, it’s tough work. It’s cleaning up messes. It’s giving medication to keep them comfortable. It’s the heartache of knowing that their time is limited. Still, Mo wouldn’t trade it for anything.

“Fospice is a whole different world of connection,” he says.

Macchiato’s time may be limited, but to her foster family, every day she’s here and happy is something to celebrate. Thanks to these compassionate and dedicated humans, she will feel safe and loved for the rest of her life.

For Mo, fostering dogs has given him purpose and taught his kids important life lessons. He hopes Macchiato will inspire others to volunteer to foster pets, including pets who are nearing the end of their journey.

[Faces of No-Kill: Loving a dog who has limited time]

“It’s just such an easy way to give back, in my opinion,” he says. “It’s just time. It’s just loving a dog, and dogs just deserve so much love.”

Editor’s note: Since the writing of this story, Macchiato passed away peacefully surrounded by love. Our thoughts and gratitude are with her foster family for the extraordinary care they gave her during her final months.

Our goal at Best Friends is to support all animal shelters in the U.S. in reaching no-kill. No-kill means saving every dog and cat in a shelter who can be saved, accounting for community safety and good quality of life for pets. 

Shelter staff can’t do it alone. Saving animals in shelters is everyone’s responsibility, and it takes support and participation from the community. No-kill is possible when we work together thoughtfully, honestly, and collaboratively.