WASHINGTON — Poh, a sweet, mixed-breed dog, is dying.
Born in New York and adopted as an 8-week-old pup in 1999, Poh was diagnosed with kidney failure last January.
His owner, Thomas Neil Rodriguez of New York, knew there wasn’t a cure. But Poh’s diet was adjusted and regular fluids given to keep his system flushed out.
But then more bad news came. Poh had a large tumor in his liver and many tumors in and around his kidneys.
“Unfortunately surgery was not an option, and we knew our time with Poh was limited,” Rodriguez tells WTOP.
But Rodriguez, a DJ, wasn’t going to wait around. He wanted to make the most of their remaining time together. He, his fiancee and Poh, were going on a road trip.
The original goal? Get Poh’s paws into the Pacific Ocean.
But it didn’t end there.
Rodriguez decided to take Poh on a cross-country trip, seeing the sights and fulfilling a bucket list of sorts. And he documented it all on Poh’s Instagram account.
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All in all, their adventure included 35 cities spanning 12,000 miles. The trip included the D.C. area, too.
One of the best parts, Rodriguez says, was getting Poh into the water. Especially at the dog park in San Diego.
“The water had a healing effect, he had so much energy after he got to take a dip. those moments were captured on his Instagram feed.”
In Oregon, Poh saw the “The Goonies” house. In New Mexico, he saw the house that Walter White lived in from “Breaking Bad.”
The Instagram account exploded with fans. Currently @pohthedogsbigadventure has more than 42,000 followers.
“I think this trip is something a lot of pet owners have thought about doing, would have loved to have done. But most people can’t just get up and leave everything at a drop of a dime,” says Rodriguez who often travels for his job.
Locally, Poh’s adventures included the Washington Monument, Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, White House, Lincoln Memorial and Mount Vernon.
Also, he had a chance to visit Bourbon Street, the 9/11 Memorial and Hollywood.
Now, Rodriguez is back home — and so is Poh. While Rodriguez says Poh’s body can’t quite make sense of things (he’s older than 105 in human years, after all) he has plenty of spirit and heart.
“And (he) still lights up when he gets to go somewhere new .”
To see all of Poh’s adventures, follow him on Instagram.
