{"id":736,"date":"2024-09-14T02:52:34","date_gmt":"2024-09-14T01:52:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amazing.greensmartmobility.com\/?p=736"},"modified":"2024-09-14T02:52:36","modified_gmt":"2024-09-14T01:52:36","slug":"brides-dying-pet-dog-lives-long-enough-to-walk-her-down-the-aisle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amazing.greensmartmobility.com\/?p=736","title":{"rendered":"Bride\u2019s dying pet dog lives long enough to walk her down the aisle"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Your wedding day is one of the most important days of your life, and you want to spend it surrounded by your loved ones \u2014 and for many couples, that includes their pets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve seen many stories of couples including their beloved\u00a0pets in their big day, even\u00a0making them the \u201cbest man.”\u00a0But one story will truly tug at your heartstrings: a dog dying from cancer hung on just long enough to see his owners down the aisle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kelly O\u2019Connell, a veterinarian, was just 19 when she laid eyes on Charlie, a black Lab mix. The dog had been found abandoned in a shopping cart in the middle of winter. While Kelly wasn\u2019t planning on adopting a dog at the time, she knew it was love at first sight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what it was. I was just like, \u2018Yeah, this is my dog. I\u2019m taking him home,’\u201d she told the\u00a0Denver Channel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kelly and Charlie soon became best friends, and he changed her life. The very active, playful dog inspired the owner to take up running.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her dog was so important that when she met her future husband James Garvin, also a veterinarian, one of her biggest concerns was if he and his kids would get along with Charlie \u2014 thankfully, they hit it off. \u201cCharlie doesn\u2019t like everyone. But he immediately loved them,\u201d Kelly said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe grew to love him just as much as I did,\u201d she told\u00a0. CNN \u201c[Charlie] was a symbol of the coming together of the family.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But after 15 years together, Charlie started slowing down. He wasn\u2019t his usual active self, and after he suffered a seizure, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, the couple was preparing for their wedding day. \u201cIt broke my heart, he had five seizures the week before the wedding,\u201d Kelly told People\u00a0. \u201cWe considered putting him down, but he seemed to get better, so we waited.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was as if Charlie was holding on just long enough to see his owners get married \u2014 so when their big day arrived, Charlie was there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite being weak from cancer and near death, Charlie found the strength to walk Kelly and James down the aisle for their vows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sadly, he was too weak to walk back, but Kelly\u2019s sister helped him out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy sister, being my sister, scooped him up \u2014 all 80 pounds of him \u2014 and carried him back down the aisle,\u201d Kelly told the Denver Channel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It was an emotional moment for everyone, and even on her big day Kelly could only think about how proud she was of her beloved dog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe literally ignored everybody. We just dropped to our knees and we just kept saying, \u2018You did it, buddy. You made it. You\u2019re here. You\u2019re here.\u2019 Everybody was crying.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It turned out to be one of their last memories together: Charlie died just nine days after the ceremony. But while she was heartbroken to lose her best friend, Kelly was grateful Charlie was able to make it, and that the sweet moments were captured by their wedding photographer\u00a0Jen Dziuvenis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThose memories. That moment \u2014 I was just happy to have him, for him to be there and for the years I had with him,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd in the pictures he is smiling.  You can\u2019t deny it. He is smiling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ll miss Charlie, he was my best friend,\u201d she told People. \u201cBut he\u2019ll never be forgotten. And we\u2019ll always have the wedding photos to remember him by.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n