這家人領養老病小狗「用愛送牠」 孩子辦「掰掰派對」
▲孩子們自己想到方法，要幫花生辦「掰掰派對」。（圖／翻攝自Instagram／shelteranimalsrock）
狗狗花生(Peanut)又病又老被送回收容所醫生預估只剩幾周生命，收容所希望爲牠找個家庭陪伴牠度過最後快樂的時光，而新媽媽珍妮佛(Jennifer Burke)一家決定接下這沉重又甜蜜的任務。珍妮佛的孩子們好喜歡花生，7歲的諾雅(Noa)提議幫花生舉辦「掰掰派對」。
花生2015年被領養，但牠的飼主過世了，由飼主的女兒接手照顧，但女兒沒有時間付出愛與關心，最後花生還是回到收容所，而且狀況非常差，臉上有惡性腫瘤，還有腎衰竭，醫生預估只剩下幾周的生命。收容所捨不得花生生命得在收容所結束，於是把牠的事情PO上網，希望有人能照顧牠的醫療，並讓牠在充滿愛的環境下離開。
Shelter Animals Rock!（@shelteranimalsrock）分享的貼文 於 2017 年 6月 月 25 6:02下午 PDT 張貼
珍妮佛沒有照顧過需要醫療照護的動物，但看到花生的事情後和丈夫討論，並帶孩子們到收容所去看狗狗，最後決定帶花生回家，「花生需要家，我們就有家，還有很多愛，我沒辦法讓牠在吵雜的籠子裡孤單死去。」
珍妮佛的孩子都很小，從來不瞭解死亡，夫妻倆希望透過照顧花生，不僅給一隻需要愛的小狗一個家，也引導孩子生命的循環，還有如何說再見。一開始全家人都不覺得多了一隻狗會有太大的改變，但是雖然花生很小，影響力卻好大，「牠才3.8公斤，不佔空間也不吵，也不會太精力旺盛，但是不知不覺地在我們心中分量越佔越大。」
腎衰竭讓花生食慾很差，珍妮佛用盡辦法只要花生吃一點點也值得，「我幾乎要把冰箱倒出來，每樣東西都讓牠吃吃看，所有的狗飼料也試了、狗零食也試了。」但挑嘴的花生只願意吃熱狗、雞塊、漢堡和肉片。
Field trip to @elawafarm! Beautiful day and Peanut LOVED all the smells. @shelteranimalsrock #foster #hospice #fospice #foreverfoster #fosteringsaveslives #peace #shelteranimalsrock #rescue #rescuedog #shelterdog #adoptdontshop #spayandneuter #peanutsjourney
Shelter Animals Rock!（@shelteranimalsrock）分享的貼文 於 2017 年 7月 月 8 10:48上午 PDT 張貼
全家都好愛花生，這也讓珍妮佛和丈夫思考好久該如何教孩子告別，但7歲女兒諾雅卻有個想法，她寫了紙條「親愛的爸爸媽媽，我要幫花生辦一場掰掰派對，請幫忙讓我們能及時舉辦。」珍妮佛和丈夫收到紙條後幾天就積極準備派對，但那天早上花生的情況變得緊迫，他們知道時間到了。
I have the most amazing 7 yo daughter. This is the note I found on my bed last night. Yes. We will have a bye-bye Peanut party and celebrate having her in our lives, rather than focus on her impending departure. We u, Peanut. @shelteranimalsrock #peanutsjourney #peanutsparty #foster #hospice #fospice #foreverfoster #shelteranimalsrock #rescue #rescuedog #shelterdog #adoptdontshop #spayandneuter
Shelter Animals Rock!（@shelteranimalsrock）分享的貼文 於 2017 年 7月 月 27 1:29下午 PDT 張貼
他們全家到草地上，諾雅準備了氣球和海報寫着「花生我們愛你」，珍妮佛準備了蛋糕，全家一起分享這段時間和花生一起的美好回憶，氣氛相當輕鬆。花生當天傍晚過世了，雖然大家都有心理準備，但是那一刻還是讓人很心痛。孩子們有好多關於死亡的疑問，「牠怎麼死的？」、「牠的爸爸媽媽知道牠死掉了嗎？」、「花生的身體在死掉之後會不會就不見了呢？」珍妮佛和丈夫盡全力回答孩子們的疑問，雖然很傷心，但很感謝花生給他們這個機會能教導孩子關於愛和失去。
珍妮佛把照顧花生的故事放到Instagram，「雖然照顧花生是個挑戰，但是我們感受到的愛、製造的回憶和學到的事，讓所有淚水跟心痛都很值得。」他鼓勵大家能能勇敢照顧這些需要幫助的毛孩走完最後一程，雖然花生的一生真的好辛苦，但是最後的幾周牠感受到的只有滿滿的愛。
RIP sweet Peanut. While you were only with us for a brief time, you were part of our family. We loved you. Your life mattered. And you will remain in our hearts always. I am truly amazed by the outpouring of love and support for Peanut. This has been a remarkable experience for our family. And while our hearts are broken, we are so much better, so much more complete, for having had Peanut in our lives for the last 5 weeks. Thank you for following Peanut's journey. For an animal who was dumped at the shelter...at the age of 10...in advanced kidney failure...she became a rockstar. Most definitely worthy of all the social media love and attention she received. And to my husband, Pat. You are simply amazing. Thank you for completely supporting me when I said I wanted to foster Peanut...knowing this journey would end in heartbreak. I could not have done this without you. And, obviously, the Nut knew how awesome you are...which is why she loved you most. By sharing Peanut's journey, it is my hope that it inspires and encourages people to foster. Not necessarily hospice fostering. But simply opening your heart and home to a shelter animal for a short period of time. It saves so many lives. And it makes yours so much richer in the process. @shelteranimalsrock #peanutsjourney #peanutsjourneycomestoanend #foster #hospice #fospice #foreverfoster #rippeanut
Shelter Animals Rock!（@shelteranimalsrock）分享的貼文 於 2017 年 7月 月 27 6:45下午 PDT 張貼