Ephrata family dog’s last meal is a special one thanks to the kindness of strangers

When Hunter Metzger told employees at the Texas Roadhouse in Ephrata that the steak he ordered was his dog Iris’s last meal, they made it ‘with love,’ as instructed.

The kindness of strangers can help you weather a lot of difficult situations, like saying goodbye to a beloved pet.

Hunter Metzger of Ephrata experienced this first hand recently when an employee at a local restaurant learned the to-go meal she was preparing for Metzger was actually the last meal for his dog, Iris.

Iris’s quality of life had declined rapidly, after the 8-and-a-half year-old Great Dane developed a mass in her nasal cavity that made it hard for her to breathe. Once the family made the difficult decision to say goodbye to Iris, they planned to give her what Metzger described as “the best last day ever.”

“We took her on car rides to visit family and friends, so I decided she was going to get a steak dinner for her last meal,” Metzger said.

Metzger placed an online order for Iris’s steak dinner at the Texas Roadhouse in Ephrata, and under the special instructions section he added “Last meal for our dog. Prepare with love.”

Enter kitchen supervisor Kim Weston, who wrote a note of support on the receipt and decorated the meal container with hearts and messages when she saw the order instructions.

“The to-go people know I’m such an animal lover,” Weston told WGAL-TV. “They showed me, and I was like, ‘Oh, my God, I’ve got to make this the best steak ever.'”

When Metzger arrived at the restaurant for the order, which Texas Roadhouse picked up the tab for, several employees came out to greet him, offering condolences and assuring him the meal was prepared with love.

“It was just such an incredibly kind thing to do,” Metzger said. “We were blown away.”

Metzger was so moved by the gesture that he posted something about it on a community Facebook page. From there, the story exploded, with the family receiving messages of love and support from around the world, something that Metzger said helped with the grieving process.

“We’ve had messages from people in Germany, the U.K., and Australia, offering condolences,” Metzger said. “People are sharing stories about their dogs, whether it’s current dogs or dogs who have passed away, and sending pictures of their dogs. People have shared poems about losing dogs and pets. Every few days we’ll get another message from somebody, and it puts a smile on your face.”

Metzger said his family, which is about to increase by two as his wife is due to deliver twin boys in about six weeks, has been doing the best they can to get along without Iris, who they adopted eight years ago through a family friend in Iowa. As for the four-legged members of the family — they have several dogs — Metzger said their smallest, Sylvee, a morkee, was taking it the hardest.

“She was pretty attached to Iris, always laying right with her.” Metzger said “The first week or so, she was pretty lost, did a lot of wandering. You knew who she was looking for.”

Metzger said the experience is proof that few things can bring complete strangers together quite like dogs.

“From the initial showing of kindness, from people we didn’t know, to the story taking off and spreading all over the world the way it has, it just shows how much dogs can bond people,” Metzger said. “The whole experience has been mindblowing.”