Are you ready for your morning cry?
Meet Gadget. He’s a puggle/beagle mix who loves to have fun. Brooklyn couple Connor Mock and Brishelle Meager have been his proud parents even since they found him outside a Heartland Brewery 11 years ago. But you’d never guess this pup had a sad backstory considering his friendly, outgoing nature.
Sadly, after a recent vet visit last week, Gadget got some bad news. A tumor in his spine had metastasized, leaving him with only a few weeks to live. The couple was devastated.
“We knew what we had to do for our little buddy,” says Brishelle. “We were gonna take him for one last big adventure.”
Connor adds, “All his favorite bars in one crawl.”
Wow—is someone chopping onions in here? Because our eyes are leaking!
“We don’t normally give him beer, just a little sometimes so he can taste it,” explains Connor. “But since he’s dying, we figured, why not spoil him rotten?”
They pregamed at home with a Heineken mini-keg, which Brishelle lovingly held over Gadget’s sleepy head. “We have this picture of him as a puppy next to a mini-keg, and it’s bigger than he is!” Brishelle says, through misty eyes. “He was so happy drinking Heiney, just the three of us.”
The next stop on the crawl was Dread Pirate Roberts, a dog-friendly bar near their apartment that serves a rotating selection of local beer and microbrews. “Sometimes the dogs, they come in here, they start trouble, barking at other dogs, knocking over glasses, just total jerkoffs,” says bartender Mark Touhy, who served the 30-pound dog several tulip glasses of double IPA. “But not Gadget. Gadget was always chill, no matter how many people fed him beer as a joke. We’re all gonna miss that little guy.”
Gadget wagged his tail, looking up at the regulars at they pet him one last time.
The middle stop was Prospect Park for a boozy picnic, complete with burgers, hot dogs, and oh yeah—lots of beer, all for Gadget. Gadget happily wandered around after Frisbees, catching none of them and falling often. “He loves Frisbee,” said Connor.
The final destination was Brooklyn Bridge Park at dusk with a couple of brown-bagged 40s. “I’m really gonna miss times like this,” said Brishelle. “Just the two of us and our dog drinking beer.” The couple put their arms around their wasted canine companion, staring off into the sunset.
Wow—if you’re not crying, then check your pulse, because you might be dead! Just like Gadget.
