Imgur user ellrank, a 19-year-old woman and dog lover from Sydney, Australia, took to the image-sharing site to spread the story of a man named Joseph and his beloved old dog, Zeus.
(Photo credit: Novak Tonkin)
At 15-years-old, Zeus, a Cattle Dog mix, has lost his hearing and has almost completely lost his sight, but he hasn’t lost his vibrant sense of adventure.
His devoted owner, Joseph, knows the time to say goodbye to the dog he’s raised since birth is soon approaching. But the cyclist and pen sketch artist is not ready to let Zeus go just yet — not before the pair can take one final journey together to commemorate their friendship, and the strong bond that will continue long after Zeus is gone.
Gathering together what little money he had saved up, Joseph decided he would take Zeus on a grand journey across Australia on his bicycle. Joseph constructed a special cart for Zeus out of an old dog crate, a fluffy pillow, an elastic cargo net, a makeshift retractable roof and a dog harness. He hooked the cart up to his bike, packed some supplies then set off across the country with his best friend.
(Photo credit: Novak Tonkin)
Ellrank met Joseph and Zeus on their bicycle one day just outside of where she works, and she decided to document the encounter on her Imgur account under the heading “Met the most amazing person today…”
“This man is taking his old and sick best friend on a long-ass journey done entirely on bike,” ellrank writes in a caption on one of the photos she took of Joseph and Zeus. “This man absolutely made my day, and Zeus was so gorgeous,” she said.
Joseph told ellrank Zeus’s story, and explained why the two of them were making such a long trip.
“I don’t want Zeus to just die,” Joseph says, “he has cared for me more than I have cared for him.”
Along the way, Joseph gives away his abstract pen drawings as mementos while people stop to meet Zeus, who is happy for the attention.
“I love meeting new people and they just love Zeus,” Joseph explains.
Since posting the story two days ago, ellrank’s post has received more than 200 comments from people all over the world, all of them touched by the tale of Joseph and Zeus.
“This is just heartwarming,” writes one commenter. “People can be really amazing when they choose to.”
“That is quite possibly the sweetest thing I have ever seen,” writes another. “There is nothing like the love between a person and their dog.”
If you would like to follow Joseph and Zeus’s spectacular Australian adventure, check out Joseph’s Flickr page for photos.
Sources: Lifewithdogs.tv 2013, Imgur.com, Flickr.com
