Cancer patient turns dog into shelter before killing herself

A 46-year-old bus driver in Missouri killed herself earlier this week after finding out her cancer had returned.

Before taking her own life, she dropped her dog off at a shelter with a heartbreaking note.

Crystal Chrisp was found dead inside her Affton apartment Tuesday after a fire.

But authorities say she wasn’t killed by the fire.

She died of self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Recently, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

“She was dealing with it a few years back and she had gone into remission,” said her friend Sharon Hyster-Harris. “A couple of months ago it came back and I just think she decided she just couldn’t deal with it anymore.”

The news of her death and the fire came as a shock to neighbors.

“She was a very good neighbor kept to herself,” said Marcie Farmer.

“It’s so weird to have it so close to home,” said Kurtis Hanger. “We’re literally right next to them, like neighbors.”

But what struck so many was Crystal’s compassion for her dog, Shell.

She dropped him off at Stray Rescue with a heartbreaking note before she took her life.

In the note, she said she’d lost her battle with cancer and needed her baby to be taken care of.

The shelter shared the “heartbreaking” note she left with the dog on their Facebook page:

“I am writing you cause I need you to take my dog, Shell…I’ve been fighting cancer for a few months and if you’re reading this I lost my battle. I need for my baby girl to be taken care of in a home…In these days all I do is worry about what’s going to happen to her. I love this girl, she is my daughter.”

Sharon says her friend’s dog was like a child to her, but she loved all dogs.

“I have a dog, her name is Lola and she loved Lola just as much as she did hers,” said Hyster-Harris. “The compassion she had for the animals, she had twice as much compassion for humans.”

Friends say Chrisp worked hard and in life, gave it her all.

But couldn’t bear going through another painful battle with cancer.

“She was my friend and I’m just going to miss her. My heart is really aching right now for her,” said Hyster-Harris.

There is a glimmer of hope in this tragic story.

The shelter says a woman heard about Chrisp’s story and came in to adopt Shell.

The dog and her new owner are already inseparable.