Community Corner
Baltimore County Beagle Gains Fame for Bucket List
The Lutherville Volunteer Fire Company helped Little Joe achieve one of 15 items on his list.
Little Joe the beagle mix may be terminally ill, but his fan base has taken on a life of its own.
Since Little Joe, or "L.J.," was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer in March, his owners—Kathryne and Essam Shomali of Rodgers Forge—made a bucket list for him, according to the Towson Times, which was one of many publications to feature the dog in the last week.
One of 15 items on the bucket list is to be on the news, and L.J. can check that item off his list, now that ABC, Towson Times, The Baltimore Sun and the British-based publication the Daily Mail.
L.J.'s Bucket List
- Eat a Big Mac
- Ride in a fire truck (completed with Lutherville Volunteer Fire Company)
- Candlelight steak dinner in the park
- Eat an ice cream cone (done at Uncle Wiggily's, Towson Timesreported)
- Donate to shelter at church (done at Christ Lutheran Church, Towson Times said)
- Donate to animal shelter (completed at Maryland SPCA, ABCreported)
- Go on a blind date (fulfilled with dog Jilly, according to the Daily Mail)
- Get pampered at the doggie spa
- Ride in motorcycle sidecar
- Meet a famous dog or police dog (in the works)
- Have a birthday party (may happen this summer in Rodgers Forge, Towson Times reported)
- Be on the news (fulfilled via ABC, Towson Times, Daily Mailand The Baltimore Sun)
- Donate to Beagle Freedom Project (completed and ongoing)
- Take a summer swim
- Meet baby Shomali
“I don’t want to think about the day that I’m going to have to say goodbye to him," Kathryne Shomali told ABC 2 News. "We want to take it day by day and have an awesome time doing this bucket list with him."
The couple put on the list items "that L.J. would really enjoy doing, or things that were just nice for the community," Essam Shomali told ABC News. “The whole point of this was ... [to] have great memories with L.J. and just to celebrate L.J."
The Shomalis aren't the first to come up with a bucket list for their pooch. Earlier this year, Romeo, a boxer diagnosed with cancer in British Columbia, was featured on the Today show after his owner created a bucket list for him similar to L.J.'s, with a steak dinner and fire truck ride, among other activities, on the list. Romeo's story may evolve into a movie, according to his Facebook page, which his owners created to support other pet owners making bucket lists for their pets.
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