Jerry Douthett and his dog Kiko.Photo: Facebook; GoFundMe
A Michigan man and his dog shared a special bond during their time together — and that bond continues to have an impact.
“I’m wrestling with the sense of loss and also in denial of, ‘Are they really gone?’ " she told WOOD. “Family members say, ‘I think maybe Jerry took the pets because maybe he needs them more there in heaven than you.’ "
“I love them so much and when it’s my time, I will meet them there again and we will be a family again,” she added.
Rosee said it was back in 2010 when their beloved dog saved Jerry’s life, according to WOOD.
“He was really buzzed at the end of the day and he fell asleep in our room,” Rosee, who works as a registered nurse, recalled to WOOD. “He screamed like ‘Rosee! You gotta come here.’ I think he put some light on his right foot and saw that his right great toe was gone and then Kiko’s mouth was full of blood.”
As it turned out, Jerry had been dealing with an infected sore on his big toe — and despite previous encouragement from his wife to get it checked out, Jerry refused, WOOD reported.
RELATED VIDEO: Man Saves Dog From House Fire
It wasn’t until Kiko took matters into his own hands and bit off Jerry’s toe that the man was required to go to the hospital and have the rest of his limb removed, per the outlet.
“[While there] they also found out that he was diabetic,” Rosee explained to WOOD. “His sugar was in the 800s ,so it was like if it wasn’t treated, it could be fatal for him, going into septic shock.”
“[Doctors] heralded Kiko as a hero because if he didn’t do that, he would never have gone to the hospital or discovered he was diabetic,” she added.
This time, doctors determined that Jerry had cancer of the mouth and throat, despite never having smoked or chewed tobacco, according to WOOD.
“We couldn’t get an appointment for the dentist as they were backed up with all of the COVID restrictions so it took a few months,” Rosee explained to the outlet. “Finally, when we had that check at the dentist, his gums were already eroded, the whole mouth.”
Jerry ultimately underwent four rounds of chemotherapy and 35 radiation treatments over a course of 10 months for his “golf [ball]-sized tumor,” according to WOOD.
Ona GoFundMe pageRosee set up to help pay the remaining medical bills for Kiko, she said losing her dog right after Lucky and Jerry’s deaths caused a “crushing grief in my heart.”
“We snuggled until it was time for him to rest and sleep with the angels,” she added. “I was wailing as I hugged him tightly but I let him go…because he was no longer in pain.”
So far, the GoFundMe page has raised $2,000. Rosee also told WOOD that her friends and family put together a benefit concert at Cannonsburg in July called Big Jerry Palooza. Their hope is to make the concert an annual event with a different beneficiary each year.
Those interested in donating to the GoFundMe page can do sohere.
source: people.com
