Devastated owner takes terminally ill dog on an 8,500 mile cross-country road trip

In September, Attleboro, Massachusetts, Mayor Paul Heroux found out that his dog, Mura, was dying. So the dog lover decided to do something special with his pet.

The pair traveled cross-country to 24 states and to Canada. The mayor posted daily updates of their trip on social media reaching hundreds of people.

Mura, 10, is a Japanese wolf-dog who only has a few months to live. The dog is suffering from an aggressive blood cancer called hemangiosarcoma.

Mayor Paul Heroux was set to take a trip to the Middle East for vacation but the news about his pet was more important to him. So he decided to cancel the vacation and instead, he took a cross-country trip with Mura.

For more on this story go to our Twitter account @amomama_usa. Explaining his decision, Heroux said:

“Rather than going to the Middle East for a vacation and spend time away from her, I decided to take a road trip to meet her breeder in [British Columbia], Canada.”

The pair officially went on their trip on October 28. They got to visit 24 states and Canada with the mayor posting daily images of their travels on Facebook.

In one post he wrote:

“Mura doesn’t know she has terminal cancer so don’t tell her. Just let her think she is the little princess that she is going for the best ride of her life. Dogs love to go for a ride.”

The pair went to the Niagara Falls, Mount Rushmore, and the Yellowstone National Park. After arriving in British Columbia, Heroux drove south to visit the University of South California.

Then they were off to the Grand Canyon, the Oklahoma City Memorial, and the St. Louis arch before driving back home. The two drove a total of 8,500 miles over 12 days.

This also happened to be Heroux’s first vacation in three years. During their time away, Heroux left City Council President Mark Cooper as acting mayor.

Speaking about his trip, the mayor said:

“I had no idea this would turn into a thing. I just went for a ride with my dog and did some sightseeing on my way.”

His story has garnered attention from a number of news outlets. Hundreds of people have reacted positively on Mura’s photos that the mayor posted to Facebook throughout their journey.

Heroux shared that his pet thoroughly enjoyed the trip. He said, "I know my dog really well and this was a very nice time for her."

He added:

"Several people that have gone through the same situation, losing their dog to cancer, said, 'Just make sure that you give her the best few months of her life left.’ And I took that to heart.”

In a similar story, an Imgur user shared 26 images of her dying dog as she treated it to a fun-packed final day before taking the canine to the veterinarian and saying a final goodbye. The pet got to enjoy some of her favorite things with the company of her owner.