Smoke, the Arlington dog with a bucket list, dies

WASHINGTON — Smoke, the Arlington, Virginia, dog with a bucket list, died this week, the Animal Welfare League of Arlington announced Friday.

In July, Smoke captured a lot of hearts in the area when the Arlington shelter announced that he had terminal cancer and that they’d created a bucket list for him. The biggest item on the list was a forever home.

He got that, and a lot more. Last month, he got to walk around Nationals Park, eating some ice cream in the process; he hung out at the Arlington County Police Department and had a bite of a doughnut, and he went home with his new family — all in one day. The shelter said at the time that he had anywhere from a few months down to a few weeks left.

Sam Wolbert, the president and CEO of the animal welfare league, said on Facebook that Smoke was “loved by all who met him, most especially by his family.” He added a statement from his owner, who said, “Smoke was one of the most gentle and loving dogs I have met. He would always take the gentle approach with other dogs if he sensed any anxiety or aggression. He loved every person he met and he loved to lay next to me.”

Wolbert added that the AWLA wanted to thank “our entire community for supporting Smoke during his time with us, and helping his final months be the best they could possibly be.”

Smoke was 10 years old.