Help Us Honor Teller's Memory

I am so heartbroken to share that on 11/22/2024, Teller crossed the rainbow bridge, peacefully and no longer in pain. I know this is so sudden, believe me—it was for us too. We loved him so fiercely and with all of our beings, and we are struggling to catch our breath in all of this.

On Monday night, Teller began having trouble going pee and was visibly uncomfortable when trying. We thought it might have been a UTI, so we scheduled him first thing Tuesday morning to be seen and treated. Early that morning, he was already noticeably worse. I was terrified, and that morning we ended up at the emergency vet instead. After scans, ultrasounds, and (thankfully) lots of pain medicine, the doctor told us that Teller had prostate cancer and a severely obstructed bladder as a result.

In a matter of minutes, we suddenly only had a few days left together. I think my world actually stopped spinning for a bit while my reality of “We have so many plans, we have so many years left, we have so much time” came crashing down.

That first day in the ER, they drained 550 ML of urine from his bladder; the second day it was 350 ML, and the third day they could no longer pass a catheter. We were able to have him at home with us here and there during those days, and for that, we are so, so grateful. He got to have a whole Red Robin burger (his daddies’ favorite), new stuffies, all the treats he wanted, and of course—pretty much non-stop, relentless love.

His final day wasn’t exactly what we envisioned for him—we wanted to take him to the beach and the forest (his favorite places) and get him a big ole Tillamook ice cream cone—but he let us know pretty clearly that he was in too much pain and he was ready. We still had time together, all three of us just laying on the floor for hours, talking. We told him about all our plans for our lives, all the ways in which we will keep him with us as we navigate this new life without him physically there. We told him about the places we will spread his ashes so he can run forever… in the trees of Elsie, the lake bed in Nevada, the desert at Northwest Nomads, the garden at Grandma’s…

He passed around 6:30 pm last night, surrounded by so much love. In his last moments, he was still rolling and playing with his favorite dish-rag. Forever a puppy, forever my baby.

Thank you to everyone who has ever loved Teller—in person or by leaving a comment on his many photos and videos—he loved the attention even when he grumbled about it, I promise

Thank you for allowing me one more bit of vulnerability—this GoFundMe. We are trying to stay afloat with the financial stress this has put on our little family, as we were just not expecting something like this at all. If anyone is able to help, we would be forever grateful.

Goodnight, little nugget. All my love