Kyle Amick was faced with a decision that all pet owners must confront. Hannah, an 11-year-old American put bull terrier-Labrador mix, had been having hip problems for more than a year.
The dog was having trouble walking without pain medication, but the medicine caused seizures and damaged her liver. Amick, 24, took Hannah off the medication but the seizures got worse.
Amick and her mother felt like it wasn’t fair to Hannah to keep her in pain and decided to put her down.
“It was the worst thing I’ve had to choose in my life,” Amick told BuzzFeed News.
Amick decided to document Hannah’s final day on Snapchat. She gave the dog extra pain medication and took her into PetSmart — where Amick works — for a bath. She also painted the dog’s nails and treated her to a fast-food meal.
“I wanted Hannah to have a day to herself, be a queen one last time,” she said.
Amick posted her Snapchat photos privately to her Facebook page and shared it to a group page for her fellow PetSmart employees. Some of her colleagues asked to share Hannah’s story, so Amick made her Facebook post public.
“Hannah was honestly my best friend,” Amick told BuzzFeed.
“I only did what I knew was best for her in the end.”
Amick’s Facebook post has been shared more than 177,000 times. She told BuzzFeed that that number surprised her.
“I really wasn’t quite sure at first if I liked that thought or not,” Amick said. “It’s been hard to log on and see her all over, but I’m glad she’s touching so many hearts. She held mine for so many years and still does.”
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