Dog Owner Details Her Pet's Last Day in Heartbreaking TikTok: '12 Years Wasn't Long Enough'

Ellie Buckler/TikTok

A dog owner is saying goodbye to her best friend.

In a now-viral video shared to TikTok last Thursday, Ellie Buckler detailed her pup Baxter's last day.

In the emotional clip to the tune of "Stuff We Did" from Up, Buckler is seen cuddling the Shar Pei. "Making my boys [sic] last day the best I can ❤️," she wrote. "So many hugs and kisses."

Later in the day, Buckler fed her dog a special treat: fast food. "Last McDonald's breakfast," she wrote, showing a scene of Baxter munching on a sandwich.

"Little slow walk to the shop for some ham ❤️" she said of their next adventure. "Sharing our last packet together," the pet parent continued as the two ate cold cuts.

"More cuddles ❤️" she said of their downtime together, showing Baxter cuddled up with another dog.

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The emotional day continued as Buckler showed Baxter "trying naughty choccy for the first time," which he finished with a cup of tea.

"Final car trip," she wrote in the dog's ride to the vet.

After the visit, Buckler added a video of the sunset when she came home, featuring a rainbow. "Off over the rainbow bridge," she wrote. "Running in the big fields in the sky ❤️ love you forever baby boy 🌈 12 years wasn't long enough."

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Speaking to PEOPLE, Buckler said she had known Baxter since his very first day. Her family cared for Baxter's mom, Rolo, before she passed away in 2018. "We literally had him since the day he took his first breath, so we had a very strong bond," the dog owner told PEOPLE.

"At one point, we didn't think he was going to make it to his 11th birthday," Buckler revealed, "but he carried on and made it to his 12th."

As for Baxter's health, Buckler said it "deteriorated quite fast," noting that he had arthritis, trouble breathing, and needed many painkillers to stay comfortable. "Me and my family had been discussing the possibility of needing to have Baxter put to sleep a few months ago, but he would have the odd day where he was okay, so we tried to hold on to this," she shared.

"We took him to the vet, and they told us to put him on palliative care and that he wouldn't have much longer left," Buckler told PEOPLE. "Then, over the past couple of months, his breathing deteriorated further to the point where every few minutes, he was literally gasping for breath. He had stopped getting up to greet people. He just wanted to lie outside on his own all the time. He couldn't really eat without being sick either, so we just knew it was the right time."

"As heartbreaking as it was, we had to do what was right. It wouldn't have been fair to allow him to carry on the way he was," the dog owner added.

After scheduling the time and date with the vet, Buckler and her family started thinking about Baxter's last day. "I knew I wanted to make the last day the most special as I did not get that chance with Rolo," she told PEOPLE.

On the night before Baxter's last day, Buckler's stepdad slept outside with the pet on the deck so the dog wasn't alone. Buckler came over first thing in the morning with Baxter's first treat of the day: a McDonald's McMuffin. "I've let him have a tiny bit of mine in the past, and he would always want more, but I wouldn't let him," Buckler said.

"Most of the day, I was outside with him, cuddling him as he was just very tired and sleepy all the time and didn't really want to move," she added.

On the dog's final day, Buckler and her family spent every moment with Baxter. "Everyone made sure they all spent some time with him as we all grew up with him, so he was very special to all of us," she said.

Around 6 p.m., the mourning family took Baxter to the vet. "I cuddled him while having the injection, and he passed in my arms," Buckler said, "It was very peaceful, and it was a relief to see him out of pain."

"At the same time, it has left me broken … it doesn't feel the same anymore coming in the house and not hearing him plodding round and grunting, but I know it was the best decision we could have made for him," she added.

Among the 33,000 comments on the post, TikTok users shared their condolences and fears about saying goodbye to their dogs one day.

"I cry thinking about when my dog is going to leave, and he's not even two yet," one user commented.

"Lost my girl yesterday, we were traveling back from holiday so we didn't get to say goodbye, I so wanted this for her," commented another.

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Following Baxter's passing, Buckler has continued to post throwback videos of the Shar Pei to TikTok.

In one video, Baxter is shown waiting for his owner to open a doggy gate. "What I hope to see waiting for me when I get to the gates of heaven," she wrote.

"My bestfriend, miss u always 🌈❤️," she captioned the clip.