Massachusetts mayor takes his terminally ill pup on cross-country road trip

When Paul Heroux, mayor of Attleboro, Mass., learned that his dog had terminal blood cancer, he embarked on a cross-country road trip to meet Mura’s breeders. The two traveled through 24 states on their way to Vancouver Island, Canada — stopping for countless adorable photos along the way.

“Mura doesn’t know she has terminal cancer so don’t tell her. Just let her think she is the little princess that she is going for the best ride of her life,” he wrote on Facebook on Nov. 2. “Dogs love to go for a ride.”

Heroux found out Mura had cancer in September after a tumor in the dog’s spleen ruptured. The day she had surgery to address the blood in her stomach from the ruptured tumor, Heroux posted that she might not make it through the night.

But she survived, inspiring Heroux to pack up the car and head to Canada.

His Facebook page is covered in photos of Mura at the Grand Canyon, near the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and in front of various state signs.

“I shared the pictures with all of you because my girl has been part of my political life since the beginning, Heroux wrote on Facebook over the weekend, explaining how shocked he was that his trip became a national news story. “So many of you know her already. From collecting signatures at Stop and Shop to knocking on doors in 2012, visiting schools and senior homes, walking in parades and her coming to work with me at City Hall from time to time.”

The trip wasn’t completely drama-free, as he shared that Mura got food poisoning in California, possibly from “a nasty hot dog from a sketchy freeway gas station,” as he put it. Once she recovered, they continued on.

The mayor said that meeting Mura’s breeders in Canada, who hadn’t seen the pup in 10 years, and meeting other dogs there was “like heaven.”

His community seemed to follow the trip closely on social media, with lots of people commenting that the trip was heartwarming. Heroux made it clear that the two-week road journey wasn’t the end, though.

“It wasn’t goodbye,” Heroux told ABC News. “We went for a ride. A 8,500-mile ride.”

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