AUSTIN — The Austin Animal Center will do anything for one of its own, even if it means a blizzard.

The shelter’s behavior and enrichment specialist got devastating news. Her best friend Spunky was diagnosed with terminal cancer. And with only a few days to live, volunteers chipped in to give Spunky a snow day one last time.

The diagnosis was a shock. 12-year-old Spunky wasn’t playing or eating.

Owner Ashley Niels says he just wasn’t himself. “He just inhales his food all the time. And I felt him and he seemed bloated — so I decided to take him in. But I thought it would be nothing,” she said.

A veterinarian diagnosed Spunky with cancer. “And they told me there was nothing they could do. Not even surgery or chemotherapy,” Niels said.

After living in Wisconsin for years, Niels remembered a promise she made to her snow-loving dog. “On the day of his diagnosis, I remember I promised him he would see snow again and it kind of crushed me that I would have to break that,” she said.

Niels turned to Facebook for help — and her friends answered the call and rented a backyard snow-machine. “It was really touching. They wanted to make sure I didn’t break that promise,” she said.

Niels says it’s a day that will stay with her forever. “Really love your kids, because they love you more than anything,” she said.

There was so much snow the Austin Animal Center had a snow party and other dogs got to join in.

Be sure to check out their Facebook page to see photos of this event.

Source: WSBT