Written by Brandon Masters on January 25, 2020
Every dog has their day, but Eddie Spaghetti, the Staffordshire Terrier, has only a few of them left. More commonly known as a pitbull, Eddie was found by Benton County Animal Control after wandering the streets of Benton City for over a month. Diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, Eddie is estimated to only have less than a year to live. Dr. Meyer, of Vista Veterinary Hospital, immediately contacted Mikey’s Chance Canine Rescue about taking him in.
With Mikey’s Chance choosing not to put Eddie up for adoption, this meant he would remain with the canine rescue until his passing. His foster, Kristi Kesler, has chosen to make a bucket list for Eddie to experience. With so little time left, it was decided to focus on making him the happiest dog possible rather than wait for the inevitable.
“We will be sad when the time comes but until then we are just going to have a lot of fun with him and make a lot of great memories for everybody,” said Kesler in an interview with local CBS news team KEPR.
On January 20th, 2020, this included becoming a local police officer for a day. Kesler reached out to the Pasco Police Department to see if they were willing to assist in making Eddie Spaghetti’s day a special one. What happened was more than Kristi could have expected.
“I thought maybe he might get his picture taken with an officer in a car, I thought maybe if he were lucky he might go for a car ride, but I never dreamed it would be this big for him,” said Kesler.
Instead, Eddie was presented with a special K-9 uniform with patches donated from a Richland Police Department officer. Not only that, but the officers with Pasco took Eddie on a patrol around town. One of his ride-along officers and handler, Detective Julie Lee, is no stranger to Mikey’s Chance; she has adopted both her dogs from them. One of which, a Great Dane pup, she fell in love with after meeting during a photo shoot for 2019’s Rescue Me calendar. Detective Lee is also in love with newly-minted Officer Eddie as well.
“He is just such a lover. You would never suspect that he was abused or neglected,” said Detective Lee.
During his ride-along with Detective Lee, Eddie’s patrol took him across the Tri-Cities. The local Starbucks presented the officer with his first puppachino, while the Spudnut shop in Richland made sure the officer also got a doughnut to enjoy. His patrol visited both Petsmart and PAWS Pet Emporium, both supporters of events for Mikey’s Chance adoptions. Eddie was presented a kiddie pool filled with stuffed animals, thanks to DermaCare, although he chose to take time to cuddle with them rather than play.
Eddie’s list may be halfway done, but Kristi Kesler has more plans for the pup. Make sure to follow Mikey’s Chance on social media to see planned events like a kissing booth at an upcoming Mikey’s event.