Max the Golden Retriever would always walk halfway up the staircase in Shari Blivin’s home and have a nap. Over the years, the paint wore away on the one step that had become his favorite.
Sadly, Max passed peacefully over Rainbow Bridge last year at the bottom of those very same stairs. Recently Blivin was about to repaint the stairs when she had an idea about how to honor the memory of her beloved dog.
Blivin shared her touching memorial in a video she posted on her Instagram page, which you can watch below:
In addition to preserving Max’s stair, Blivin also got a memorial plaque especially made for the step and attached it to the step.
“It’s forever his,” Blivin wrote in the video’s caption. She continued:
“I painted my stairs.
black just made more sense.
so did leaving his step,
untouched.
one year without you boo.
feels like one of the longest years of my life.
i hope you have a step, that is all yours and that you love as much as you did this one.
i’m doing okay, really good actually.
but gosh, how i miss you.”
She summed up her memorial by writing, “His favorite step has been preserved, just like his memory.”
Last year, Blivin shared on her Instagram channel the heartbreaking news that Max passed away quite suddenly from a suspected aggressive cancer. She explained that Max lay at the bottom of the stairs in his final moments. She cradled him in her arms and comforted him as his breathing slowed. She told him that she would be okay and that it was okay for him to go. He didn’t move for hours but in his final breath he gave Blivin a last goodbye. Blivin described, “He raised his head and put it on my lap and took his last breath. And I held him while he went. Even in death he was the sweetest kindest soul.”
She also provided an explanation for why she shared the step project in a follow-up video.
She wrote in the caption:
“a little back story
i ‘needed’ to share Max’s step reel on January 20.
because that is his Angelversary.
i needed to share it because when he passed, the friends here grieved right along with me. they checked in on me with sweet messages. they listened every time i talked. and every time i cried.
they missed him, too.
they loved him, too.
i needed to share it because i thought they would love this ‘staircase move over’ as much as i did…
but i had nooooo idea of just how much.
it has brought more friends, more stories, more sharing, more compassion… more love.
it has brought me this amazing community.
i’m still crying haha
sooo much crying from everyone
i am so truly grateful for all the kindness you have given and shown.”
Millions of dog lovers have been moved to tears not only by Blivin’s touching memorial but also in a united grief we all feel at the loss of a beloved pet.
This is Max. He had a favorite step that he loved napping on so much it wore away the paint. Max has since passed away, but his favorite step has been preserved, just like his memory.
byu/Soloflow786 inMadeMeSmile
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