From the moment Maggie first felt snow beneath her paws, she was in heaven.
The gentle Saint Bernard–Newfoundland mix was born for winter — drawn to the cold like it was home.
“When she was a puppy, she’d curl up in the bathtub or stretch out on the basement floor,” her dad, Elijah Saltzgaber, told The Dodo. “She was always happiest in the winter.”
So when that first snow fell, Maggie’s joy was instant and pure.
“Being this 120-pound dog, she’d flop onto her back and slide through the snow,” her mom, Marianna Wilson, said with a laugh. “Watching her play was just … magic.”
For ten years, Maggie joined her parents on every outdoor adventure — hiking, skiing, camping, even paddleboarding in summer. Their lives revolved around her, and she gave them joy in return.
“I can’t even count the days she wasn’t by my side,” Wilson said. “Our vacations, our routines, everything included Maggie. We wanted her to have the best life — and she made ours better too.”
Then, in July, came the news no pet parent ever wants to hear: Maggie had cancer.
Her family’s hearts broke — but they were determined to make her remaining time as happy and comfortable as possible.
They planned one last camping trip together. But there was one thing missing — snow.
Maggie had always run hot, and since her diagnosis, the summer heat was especially hard on her. That’s when Saltzgaber got an idea.
“I thought, ‘What if I could get her some snow?’” he said. “Maybe I could rent a snowcone machine and make a pile in the yard.”
He posted a message online asking for help.
What happened next was beyond anything he expected.
“The community response was incredible,” Saltzgaber said. “Thousands of people reacted. People offered to bring their snowcone makers, ice from restaurants — even crush ice blocks with hammers if needed. Everyone wanted to help Maggie.”
Then, a breakthrough: Tiffany King from the Salt Lake County Ice Center reached out. She and a Zamboni driver named Jimmy decided to make Maggie a gift.
“They did two full laps around the rink — one more than usual — and built a giant pile of snow for her,” Saltzgaber said.
He loaded as much as he could into his van and drove it home. When he opened the doors, Wilson burst into tears.
“It was overwhelming,” she said. “We were crying, my mom was crying … and Maggie was just looking at us like, ‘What’s going on, guys?’”
It didn’t take long for Maggie to realize the snow was hers.
At first, she was curious — licking at the cold flakes — and then, with a playful pounce, she understood.
“She buried her ball, rolled around, and finally just laid down on top of the pile,” Wilson said. “She looked so peaceful. She was snoring for twenty minutes.”
That evening, a veterinarian from Lap of Love arrived. Maggie’s family hadn’t planned for her to stay outside so long, but the snow was where she was most at ease — exactly where she belonged.
Surrounded by her parents, blanketed in love and cool white snow, Maggie drifted off for the last time.
“It really did help her,” Wilson said softly. “She left us in her favorite place.”
