Jesse Amlin wanted to give his dog, Buddy, “the best goodbye.”
Buddy, an 8-year-old American bully, has cancer and is dying.
So Amlin, who figured he had a few days before Buddy needed to be put to sleep, took to Craigslist and Facebook that he was throwing an end-of-life meet-and-greet party for Buddy on Sunday at Central Park in Huntington Beach. Everyone was invited.
“This would make him so happy in his final time with us,” Amlin wrote, not expecting the response that the posts would get.
Jesse Amlin’s dog, Buddy, in the parking lot at Huntington Central Park in Huntington Beach, CA, on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. Amlin put out a public invitation to meet Buddy before he dies of cancer. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Jesse Amlin with his dog, Buddy, in the parking lot at Huntington Central Park in Huntington Beach, CA, on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. Amlin put out a public invitation to meet Buddy before he dies of cancer. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Jesse Amlin keeps an eye on his dog, Buddy, in the parking lot at Huntington Central Park in Huntington Beach, CA, on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. Amlin put out a public invitation to meet Buddy before he dies of cancer. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Jesse Amlin holds on to his dogs, Milo, left, Buddy, center, and Bubbles in the parking lot at Huntington Central Park in Huntington Beach, CA, on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. Amlin put out a public invitation to meet Buddy before he dies of cancer. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Jesse Amlin holds on to his dogs, Milo, top, Buddy, right, and Bubbles in the parking lot at Huntington Central Park in Huntington Beach, CA, on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. Amlin put out a public invitation to meet Buddy before he dies of cancer. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Show Caption1 of 5Jesse Amlin’s dog, Buddy, in the parking lot at Huntington Central Park in Huntington Beach, CA, on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. Amlin put out a public invitation to meet Buddy before he dies of cancer. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
ExpandThe Craigslist post was screenshotted and shared on Reddit, where thousands saw and more than 200 comments have now been posted, people sharing how they hoped to meet Buddy.
Amlin, 53, said he only expected perhaps three or four people to show up. He had set up a big sign at Miles Square Park on Saturday inviting people to meet Buddy, but no one walked over, Amlin said.
But to his surprise on Sunday, and Buddy’s delight, more than 100 responded to his invite online and came out to Central Park.
“He loved it,” Amlin said. “People were doting over him and had blankets out and were laying down with him, and he was going from person to person.”
For a bit over three hours, people came in groups to spend time with Buddy and enjoy a day in the park, Amlin said. Many began posting photos of Buddy on Reddit from the day and wishing him well.
Since there was such a strong reception on Sunday and Amlin was told more people wanted to meet Buddy but couldn’t make it out, he decided to hold a second meet-and-greet at the park on Tuesday.
Mark Lim, a 42-year-old Santa Ana resident, arrived Tuesday morning, taking pictures of Buddy and soon finding the spot on Buddy’s back where he likes to be scratched.
Emma Case, 34, and her daughter, Sidney, also arrived to spend some time with Buddy.
They came with treats and Sidney approached Buddy to give him a toy sloth to play with.
“We love animals,” Case said. “It just seemed like a nice thing to do, and they said he loves meeting people.”
“I feel like every time you lose (a dog), you say, you’ll never get another one again and then you do and it’s worth it every time,” Case added. “But it’s still really hard.”
Buddy came to Amlin about six years ago via a rescue organization. Amlin said Buddy was living at a pet hotel for nine months — the expenses paid by the head of the rescue organization who took him home on the weekends.
Amlin had a trial run with a different dog from the rescue, but it didn’t work out. So he asked to be paired with a bigger dog, and that’s when he met Buddy.
Amlin, who has been living in a van for 12 years around Orange County, said he’s spent every moment over the last six years with Buddy. They walk for a few hours every day and sleep together at night.
He discovered a tumor about six months ago on Buddy’s side that has grown rapidly in the last few weeks and Amlin knows it is time to end his friend’s suffering.
After learning about the meet-and-greet, SAFE Rescue Team, a nonprofit in Huntington Beach, has raised the few hundred dollars to pay for Buddy’s euthanasia.
Amlin said he’s grateful to the so many who visited and for the financial support. His message for others to take away from all the attention Buddy has received is simple: There are other rescue dogs out there who need a home.
“Dogs are put to sleep every single day, and the numbers have gone up since COVID,” Amlin said. “Every single one of them that gets put to sleep is a heartbreaking story, and I’d like people to consider getting a rescue dog instead of a puppy from a breeder, or from a puppy mill.”
Amlin said he doesn’t know how the idea to throw an end-of-life meet-and-greet for Buddy came to him.
“It didn’t seem like my idea,” Amlin recalled. “It was kind of like a God thing. I don’t think I could put together anything (like this).”
Amlin said he couldn’t have asked for the meet-and-greet to have turned out better.
“He deserves it,” Amlin said, tearing up. “I’m glad it went the way it did. I couldn’t ask for anymore. I still can’t imagine my life without him.”
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