{"id":8205,"date":"2026-09-06T06:06:58","date_gmt":"2026-09-06T06:06:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=8205"},"modified":"2026-09-06T06:06:58","modified_gmt":"2026-09-06T06:06:58","slug":"tucker-budzyn-viral-golden-retriever-sensation-dies-at-8-after-cancer-diagnosis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=8205","title":{"rendered":"Tucker Budzyn, viral Golden Retriever sensation, dies at 8 after cancer diagnosis"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Tucker Budzyn, the Michigan-based golden retriever who became one of the internet\u2019s biggest canine stars, has died after a short battle with cancer. He was 8.<\/p>\n

Read more Michigan wins on second Hail Mary pass in controversial ending to avoid brutal upset<\/a><\/p>\n

Tucker\u2019s owner, Courtney Budzyn, revealed that her beloved pooch died on Wednesday \u2014 less than a week after she shared he had been diagnosed with lymphoma.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought that was the last sad video I was gonna make, but it\u2019s not \u2026 Tucker\u2019s gone,\u201d Budzyn said Saturday in a tearful Instagram video as she held a box that appeared to contain his ashes.<\/p>\n

\u201cTucker passed away Wednesday, unexpectedly. He was doing really with treatment, but we didn\u2019t know he had lymphoma in his intestines. Since the chemo was working so good and he was going into remission, it left a hole in his intestine where the cancer was, and he got an infection that seemed to hit him overnight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Budzyn publicly announced Tucker\u2019s cancer diagnosis on Aug. 30, two weeks after she learned of the news from veterinarians. Tucker was said to be in \u201cpartial remission\u201d after one week of treatment and could have had another one to three years based on his treatment plan.<\/p>\n

However, Tucker\u2019s condition suddenly worsened Wednesday morning, prompting Budzyn to take him to the vet, where he was given antibiotics and fluids, but complications from the cancer became too much. <\/p>\n

\u201cHis temperature kept rising, and there was nothing \u2014 nothing was changing it. We had to let him go. Tucker, I love you so much,\u201d Budzyn said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nothing in this world that I wouldn\u2019t have done for him \u2026 It feels like I lost a body part.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Lululemon billionaire founder Chip Wilson files for divorce after 20 years of marriage \u2014 with no prenup in place: report<\/a><\/p>\n

Budzyn, who adopted Tucker in 2018, initially considered simply posting a photo of Tucker to announce his death but decided to explain what had happened to the millions of people who had followed him for years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so sorry, guys. I know he was yours, too,\u201d she said. \u201cThe past three weeks have been the time of his life. We went to the park several times and he peed on every single tree he could. He went swimming a couple of times. His first jump in the pool both times were so powerful and strong. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe got to wrestle (his son) Todd in the backyard. He got to \u201croob\u201d in the grass and feel the breeze through his fur. He got to eat chicken every single morning and night because I had to give him his medicine and he was so excited about it. I got to take him rollerblading one last time. He literally saved my life.\u201d <\/p>\n

The golden retriever soared to internet stardom, tallying 27.1 million followers across social media, including 11.8m on TikTok, 5.9m on YouTube, 4.9m on Facebook, 4.4m on Instagram and roughly 70,000 on X.<\/p>\n

Budzyn created Tucker\u2019s Instagram page in June 2018, the day she brought him home as an 8-week-old puppy, and he soon went viral for clips of him pawing at an ice cube and playing with a black plastic hair clip.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

As Tucker captured the hearts of millions across the internet, Budzyn and her husband, Mike, quit their jobs as\u00a0a house cleaner and civil engineer to manage Tucker and his son Todd\u2019s online presence. <\/p>\n

\u201cA YouTube-paid post can be anywhere from $40,000 to $60,000 for a 30-minute pre-roll,\u201d Budzyn told The Post in 2023. \u201cInstagram, we make about $20,000 for anywhere from three to eight stories.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Bloodsoaked manager of ritzy Miami steakhouse accused of stabbing mom to death<\/a><\/p>\n

Budzyn said Saturday that she plans to keep moving forward after Tucker\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I owe it to him to move forward and to heal,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tucker Budzyn, the beloved Michigan-based golden retriever with over 27 million social media followers, has died at age 8 after a brief battle with lymphoma.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8204,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"yoast_head":"\nTucker Budzyn, viral Golden Retriever sensation, dies at 8 after cancer diagnosis - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=8205\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tucker Budzyn, viral Golden Retriever sensation, dies at 8 after cancer diagnosis - 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