Jack, a 14-year-old Parson Russell terrier, doesn't have much longer to live. At the beginning of October, his owners, the Miller family, discovered that Jack is terminally ill with cancer. His veterinarians don't expect him to live past Christmas.
In the meantime, the Millers have chosen to make every final day count. They wrote a bucket list for Jack to ensure that he lives out all his dreams before he goes. The list includes items like riding in a police car, going surfing, and a "FULL COURSE STEAK DINNER."
"We decided to celebrate his life rather than be depressed waiting for him to pass away because of all the years of joy and happiness he’s given us," Jeremy Miller told Inside Edition.
"He's proving that despite looking down this loaded barrel we call cancer that he too can go out happy and positive rather than sad and scared."
The Millers even started a Facebook page for Jack, where the one-eyed pup has drummed up a lot of attention. Fellow dog lovers are helping to make sure he crosses off every item on that list.
Meet Jack. He's a 14-year-old Parson Russell terrier with one eye who lives in Wilmington, North Carolina.
On October 1, Jack's family, the Millers, got some terrible news from the vet. Jack has aggressive cancer in his jaw, and it's terminal.
They don't expect Jack to live past Christmas, so the Millers quickly became determined to help Jack live out his very best life until then.
They even wrote a lengthy bucket list to make sure Jack achieves all of his dreams while he still can.
The list includes some simple, easy items — like "lots of fresh air" and "CUDDLE TIME EVERYDAY!"
And it also includes some more ambitious items, like "a quick ride in a police car" and "a candlelit mommy massage."
The Millers shared Jack's heartbreaking diagnosis on his Facebook page — another item on the bucket list — where his story quickly began to gain attention. Eventually, the Millers posted Jack's entire bucket list for everyone to see.
And the internet did its magic. Jack's bucket list not only went viral, but he even made it onto the local news. All month long, he's been crossing off tons of items from his list, with and without his new fans' help.
"Take Jack trick or treating in costume"? Check.
"A quick ride in a police car"? Check.
Jack even got to become a K-9 officer for a day, complete with the uniform, thanks to the Wilmington Police Department.
"When we saw Jack’s story on the local news, many of our officers were touched,” the Wilmington Police Department told Inside Edition. “Then we saw his actual bucket list, which included taking a ride in a patrol car."
"We were excited that we could be a part of Jack’s journey and help make his final days memorable.”
The Millers also took Jack for his walk downtown.
And they took him to a special park so he could play.
Soon, Jack will go surfing at Carolina Beach.
And after that, he'll have his picnic at the park — which all of his new friends and fans are invited to.
At this rate, Jack will successfully do everything on his bucket list in the next two months, which is how long the vets predict he has left.
By sharing Jack's story publicly, the Millers hope to help other people cope with the loss of their pets.
Jack "shows that being diagnosed with terminal cancer does not mean he’s dead already," Jeremy told the News & Observer.
"You can make the best out of even the worst situations in life."
