Hi friends, Daniel and Shelby here.

Our sweet boy Parker passed at 1:30am on March 27th after a week-long battle following an emergency cancer surgery.

A lot of people have been asking what happened and how they can help us. We've paid over $32,000 in vet bills since November, with majority of that being in the last week. Insurance only covers some of that, but the thought of dealing with these vet bills and not even having our guy around is devastating.

So you feel led to support in any way, it would mean a lot to us. Truly.

Parker’s Health Journey

Parker’s little (big) body ALWAYS had something going on. If you knew him you know what we mean.

Piggy buddy was born late 2018, was diagnosed with Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia (IMHA) in early 2023 and beat the odds after a blood transfusion. From that point on, he constantly dealt with allergies, infections, random flare ups of issues for he rest of his life. We always joked that he hit his insurance deductible by January every year.

Then, in late November 2025, he was diagnosed with Intervertebral Disc Disease (IVDD). Basically the discs in his spine could calcify or burst and lead to paralysis, so we had to fully cut back on all the jumpy, chaotic things he loved doing. That stretch alone was about $6,000+ between MRIs, hospitalization, meds, and care. He was basically bed-bound for a few weeks and had some flare ups earlier this year, but we really thought we were finding a rhythm with it.

His Final Week

We had been told by a few doctors that being on immunosuppressants long term could start affecting his liver, so we decided to explore what it would look like to taper him off since he'd been somewhat stable for a few years. We booked an appointment for March 23rd with his original vet - the one who helped save him back in 2023.

The night before that appointment, he took an immediate and surprising turn. He got really lethargic, was panting, wouldn’t eat, wouldn’t go to the bathroom, and couldn’t really walk. It honestly felt similar to some of his recent IVDD flare ups, so we assumed it was related to his spine again. We brought him in using his wagon (which he lowkey loved to go for rides, even when he was struggling).

Our vet started checking everything and pretty quickly felt like something else might be going on. She checked his abdomen and was able to pull fluid from his side, which ended up being straight blood. That’s when everything shifted.

She told us it was likely a ruptured tumor on his spleen and called ahead to an emergency hospital that could take him into surgery right away. He realistically only had a few hours left in him. They hooked him up to an IV, sent us out the door, and Shelby was holding the IV bag in the backseat holding Parker while Daniel drove over there.

It all happened really fast, but he was in surgery within a few hours. We got to see him right before, and even then he was wagging his tail when he saw us.

The Last Day

He made it through surgery Monday night and stayed at the hospital until Thursday afternoon. We got to visit him while he was there, help feed him, just sit with him a bit.

When we picked him up on Thursday, we were honestly surprised at how good he seemed. He was moving way better than we expected, super alert, and just… happy to be with us again.

We got him a puppy patty from In-N-Out, which is his all-time favorite. He crushed it. We spent the rest of the day just hanging out with him - cuddling, letting him rest, he even did a few of his tricks and was giving us tons of kisses. It felt really peaceful. We were just so happy to have him home.

Later that night around 10:30pm, we started noticing he seemed uncomfortable again. His gums were getting really pale, which we knew wasn’t a good sign with his anemia, so we brought him back to the hospital.

They agreed he didn’t look good and immediately took him back to start another blood transfusion. Thankfully they weren’t busy at all and the vets allowed us to sit with him during the blood transfusion. We were right there next to him, just talking to him, holding him, trying to keep him calm. He was in and out of it, but you could tell he knew we were there.

Things just weren’t really stabilizing the way we were hoping. His blood levels were really low, and there were signs of clotting. We felt the inevitable approaching, but no one was ready to give up. The average blood transfusion takes 4-6 hours, Parker had 2 transfusions within 40 mins.

At a certain point, Parker let out (not exaggerating) the SWEETEST TWO HOWLS you could hear from a dog. Many have heard the iconic Parker howls after the fire truck rolls by, but these were truly the purest and realest howls we have ever heard. We now feel that was him telling us that he’s ready. But he wasn’t sure if we were ready.

Shelby leaned in and told him, “It’s okay buddy, you can go.” Daniel's sobbing from a distance because he can't take it. Within 5-10 minutes, his limbs went noticeably cold, his body lost its tension, and he seemed to begin to relax. Parker never looked away from either of us once Daniel came close and we were all three connected together.

He passed shortly after, and the vet helped make sure he was comfortable through it. We’re eternally grateful we got to be there with him the whole time, even though it was one of the hardest things we’ve ever gone through.

The next day, we learned the tumor on his spleen mass was indeed cancerous, so we’re grateful to be able to let him go rather than subject him to the agonizing cancer treatment. He had overcome more in 7 years than most dogs who live 14+ years. A strong boy.

Our Boy

If you experienced the miracle of being loved by Parker, you know he was one of those dogs that didn’t really feel like a dog. He had so much personality, so many little quirks, and this way of connecting with people that just felt different. He turned a lot of “I’m not a dog person” people into dog people.

He was just a guy.

If you knew him, you know exactly what we mean.

He had so many years stolen from him, but he was so strong to endure and be the best boy through it all. He taught us how to love.

If you have any photos or videos of Parker, we would genuinely love to see them. It would mean a lot to relive those memories and see him through your perspective too.

Thank you for loving our boy.