“Ken was in tears …He said, ‘I don’t know what to do. I have no money to take him to a vet’”

Dogs are our best friends; they usually provide us with comfort, and for the elderly, they are good partners to keep them going.

For 14 years, Ken Pendergraft, an 80-year-old man, had a reason to get out of bed in the morning because to his dog. But when the old man’s beloved puppy became ill, the neighbors stepped in to help; what transpired next demonstrates how deeply we are tied to our wonderful pets. Ken and his 16-year-old dog Zack lived in a mobile home park in Hemet, California, where neighbors said he was pleasant but kept to himself. That is, until Zack became ill and the impoverished men couldn’t afford to take him to the vet. Carol Burt, a neighbor, claimed, “Ken was in tears…

‘I don’t know what to do,’ he admitted. I don’t have the money to take him to the vet.” Carol shared his story on social media in the hopes that someone would come to his aid. Elaine Seamans, the founder of the At-Choo Foundation, a rescue organization for dogs in need of medical care, responded to her request. Elaine did everything she could to help Zack, who was diagnosed with “glaucoma, severe arthritis, and a 6/6 heart murmur, making surgery difficult.”

Unfortunately, the dog was unable to attend, and Elain said on Facebook, “Prof. Zack’s loving daddy was with him as his soul was liberated from his body that had stopped working for him.” He is now acting like a puppy and doing everything pleasant and joyful.” But the misery doesn’t stop there. The At-Choo Foundation tweeted a letter from Ken thanking all of his well-wishers who had given cards and condolence messages, but he also said that he was facing a “vacuum of loneliness.”

Ken died from a heart attack not long after Zack died. This is such a sad story, but at least they have gotten along for the past 14 years.