DJ Kygo meets his namesake dog with terminal cancer at the backstage of the Palm Tree Music Festival in Southampton, New York on Saturday, June 22.
Kygo the dog, named after the DJ, is a seven-year-old mutt. He garnered a lot of attention earlier in June after The Dogist, a photographer named Elias Weiss Friedman who takes photos of dogs out for a walk in New York City, shared his story online.
Friedman explained in his video with Kygo (the dog, not the DJ!), that someone reached out to him about a friend whose dog doesn’t have a lot of time left.
“It’s been one of her dreams to be featured on The Dogist,” Friedman said.
Kygo’s owner, Ashley McClain, said that Kygo “doesn’t have much longer” because he has bone cancer or Osteosarcoma.
Kygo is a seven-year-old mutt – he’s a Husky, Malamute, Poodle, and Collie. And his mom was found in the woods in Tacoma, Washington.
“He has osteosarcoma – we’ve been doing radiation treatment around his eye. It spread to his lungs, and now he has pneumonia, too,” McClain revealed.
And since Kygo doesn’t have much time left, McClain said she’s doing everything she can to make him as happy as possible.
McClain got emotional saying, “I really love that you’ve met him, because I know that a lot of people are gonna see him now, and that just means a lot to me.”
“He really changed my life in so many ways,” the emotional owner added.
After ticking off ‘running into The Dogist’ off Kygo’s bucket list, McClain said, “The only other thing I have left is for him to meet Kygo the DJ.”
The video went viral and a day later, DJ Kygo left a comment on the Instagram post saying, “See you at Palm Tree Fest Hamptons @empirestateofkygo. Can’t wait to meet you.”
And on June 22, DJ Kygo helped ticked off another item off his namesake dog’s bucket list after meeting the pooch backstage, at the Palm Tree Music Festival.
On another post on The Dogist, Friedman shared, “He (DJ Kygo) invited us all out to his concert in Southampton to meet up before the show.”
Upon meeting his namesake, DJ Kygo revealed, “I’ve never met a dog called Kygo before.” He also revealed that around 200 people sent Kygo the dog’s video to him, “It was insane.”
During the “Kygoception” meetup, McClain asked DJ Kygo if he would like to be part of Kygo’s Krew, which he replied with, “I would love to be!” and then wearing a shirt and a hat decorated with Kygo’s many faces on it.
Friedman tells DJ Kygo, “You made a very special dream come true.”
“The power of The Dogist community was strong with this one – everyone came together for a mom and her dog with cancer to help make their last chapter together extra special,” Friedman said.
The Dogist then reveals that the Brady Hunter Foundation donated $10,000 to McClain and Kygo the dog to help alleviate their medical cost, and another $10,000 to the National Canine Cancer Foundation in honor of McClain and Kygo.
“Until you like, have your dog, you don’t get it. When you’re a dog’s person, there will be no feeling in the world that will ever compare,” McClain said.
You can follow Kygo the dog and all his adventures on his Instagram page here.
