Dog owner Tim Griffin wants his golden retriever's dying days to be the best of Mr. Molson's 12-year-old life.
Mr. Molson, a 12-year-old golden retriever from Pennsylvania, has led a charmed life. So it was only fitting, his owner believed, that his last days be a grand adventure.
“We’re trying to make every day count,” Tim Griffin told InsideEdition.com Thursday night. “He’s just somebody who’s always been there for me.”
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Griffin, 36, has a hard time talking about what Mr. Molson means to him. He tears up when he thinks about life without him.
But for now, he and his two children, Chloe, 10, and Elliot, 8, are dedicated to completing one heck of a bucket list for their ginger-haired pet.
Hence the canine wedding.
Last week, Mr. Molson trotted down the aisle to take Josie, a black lab, in holy paw-trimony. Griffin was the best man. Chloe was the flower girl.
The idea came to the Griffins as they concocted the bucket list. “At first it was find him a girlfriend,” the elder Griffin said. Then it was, why not take it to the next level have him get hitched?
Griffin ordered a tux online (for Mr. Molson). Josie, who belongs to an acquaintance, donned a white, frilly dress. There was cake for the humans and a tiered concoction of dog biscuits for the bride and groom.
It’s a union guaranteed to have no dogfights — she lives on a horse farm out in the country. They haven’t seen each other since the ceremony.
In March, Mr. Molson was diagnosed with soft-tissue cancer and given three months to live. A large growth was removed from his snout and has since come back, Griffin said.
But his beloved sidekick shows no signs of feeling sick, Griffin said.
“It’s been three months and he’s still hanging in there. He has a big lump on his nose and you can see it growing.
“It hasn’t affected his spirit. He still wants to play, he still wants to eat, he still wants to go to work with me every day,” Griffin said.
Since his diagnosis, Mr. Molson has had one good time after another.
Some of the items ticked off his bucket list thus far: A doggie massage; having a Molson Golden ale with his owner; riding in a fire truck; becoming a honorary state cop and a honorary helicopter pilot, and marching with the local VFW chapter in York Township’s Memorial Day parade.
Oh, and he had a steak dinner on live TV, cooked by a chef from a nearby restaurant and filmed by a news crew.
Mr. Molson is spoiled rotten by Griffin’s colleagues at the local electrician’s union where he works.
“He wanders around and sees what everyone is eating for lunch,” Griffin said. “He knows what the microwave sounds like, but he waits until it’s done. Then he moseys on down to the lunch room just as it’s stopped beeping.”
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Griffin intends to keep right on spoiling Mr. Molson.
“Right now I’m trying to find out how to get him a ride in a Harley with a sidecar,” he said. “He loves to hang his head out the car window.”
He wonders how his children will react once it sinks in that Mr. Molson’s days are numbered.
“Now they’re pretty good because it’s been a lot of adventures,” he said. “He’s still doing good and he’s still active.
“But once he’s not around anymore, I think it’s finally going to hit home,” the father said.
It’s already taking a toll on Griffin.
“He’s just one of those spirits that keeps you grounded. He’s not worried. He’s like, ‘Hey, we’re in the park. We’re walking. This is fun. Look, there’s a rabbit.’’’
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