Getting the sad news that your beloved canine companion may be living his final days is devastating. But instead of waiting for the end at home with 15-year-old Poh, the lucky dog’s owners decided to take him on the trip of a lifetime.

Thomas Neil Rodriguez and his fiancée, Yuko Ogino, began a cross-country road trip with the yellow Labrador Retriever, so he could swim in the Pacific Ocean, People reports. That turned into a seven-week, 12,000-mile adventure during which Poh enjoyed 35 cities, including Washington, D.C., San Diego and Memphis, where he visited Graceland.

Rodriguez adopted Poh from the North Shore Animal League in Long Island, New York, when the dog was 8 weeks old.

He and Ogino documented Poh’s journey on his Instagram account, @pohthedogsbigadventure, and news of their bittersweet odyssey has since gone viral.

Poh has several tumors, and his kidneys are failing, but his owners say he was happy to sleep in the car and enjoy the stops on his trip. He and his family are now back home in the New York area, but they’re still exploring the sights closer to home, including visits to the Brooklyn Bridge and Coney Island — which Poh sees from the comfort of his cart.

"A lot of people are ready to give up. I think some people might have already put their dog down at this point, but he still has these bursts of energy,” Rodriguez tells People. “If Poh has taught me anything, it’s that we can’t give up — we gotta live.”
 
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