A Dog With Cancer Called Theo and The Toy Octopus Named After Him

• Theo had cancer and he was checking his bucket list when a plush blue toy caught his attention.
• Getting the toy octopus named after him became bucket list no. 63.
• The toy company named the toy ‘Theo’s Octopus” after he died and donates a portion of the sales to the organization that helps other pets with cancer.

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Jenny Leech took his dog Theo to a pet supply store to have his name tag engraved.  But something plush got Theo’s attention.

Leech recalled, “He was sniffing the toy bin and picked out the octopus. It must have been love at first sight.”

The cancer-stricken Theo was obsessed with his favorite toy.  Getting the toy named after him was No. 63 on his bucket list. And so, when it came out on the news, “people were sending octopuses when they could find them. [The octopus] was kind of becoming recognizable with Theo and his story.”

But the toy was seasonal.  Once supplies are gone, production will cease.

Leech said, “So a friend of mine reached out to Pet Supplies Plus and said, ‘Hey, Theo really loves this toy. He has some already, but it would be really cool if he could gift them to other dogs with cancer.’”

Pet Supplies Plus pulled through for Theo by calling every store in the United States, clearing out their remaining octopus inventory, and sending them all to Theo. 

A week before Theo passed, he was still able to open a package of 39 octopuses.

Leech decided to donate all the octopuses to the Live Like Roo Foundation in honor of Theo’s memory.

Leech said, “Live Like Roo was critical in Theo’s life. They provided his oncology visits, the diagnostics, his monthly medications and everything. They assisted Theo’s rescue partner with the cost of his cancer care.”

This gesture moved Pet Supplies Plus that they permanently have the blue toy in their stores and named it ‘Theo’s Octopus” and donated a portion of the toy’s sales to the Live Like Roo Foundation.

After more than two years, Theo’s memory lives on in the toys and in the lives that he has touched. 

Source: The Dodo