When Janine Guido encountered Watson just a few days ago, his demeanor spoke volumes.
“The first thing I noticed with him was his eyes,” shared Guido, the founder of Speranza Animal Rescue, with The Dodo. “He looked exhausted — like he was ready to give up the fight.”
Watson had been receiving continuous care at an emergency veterinary facility after a college student discovered him alone in a Philadelphia park last week. He was severely underweight, adorned with infected sores, and afflicted by a sizable, cancerous tumor on his hind leg.
The cancer had regrettably gained control.
When he arrived at the shelter, it was evident that all Watson desired was companionship. The priority became keeping him at ease, and Guido fulfilled that role admirably.
“I had a gut feeling that things weren’t going to be good the next day,” she recalled. “I had a gut feeling that things weren’t going to be good the next day,”
Wednesday evening, Guido assembled a collection of blankets and dog beds, arranging them snugly within the rescue’s laundry room. Nestling beside Watson, she enveloped him in her arms, soothing him with gentle words.
Watson quickly succumbed to sleep, finding comfort in Guido’s presence throughout the night.
““He slept like a rock all night, cuddled up to me so tight,” Guido recounted. “I cried myself to sleep, and woke up in tears as well.”
Watson experienced a rare sense of serenity as he slept in the embrace of someone who cherished him, a feeling he hadn’t known for an indefinite span of time.
Upon waking the following morning, Watson found himself unusually fatigued, his lack of appetite or thirst evident as he began pacing incessantly. Sadly, he succumbed shortly thereafter.
Though Guido’s time with Watson was brief, the profound impression he left on her that night will forever endure in her memory.
After enduring a lifetime of neglect, it undoubtedly held profound significance for him as well.
“I’m just so thankful I was able to hold him tight for his last night,” Guido expressed. “I was telling him how much he was loved — and that his life mattered. My heart is breaking, but I would not change a thing.”