Theodore "Theo" Rakes

Our beautiful Theo was a Silver Lab, he was only three years and three months old at the time of his passing.  Theo passed away on September 11, 2025 in our loving arms. Before Theo’s passing he was awarded Hershey Kisses, Cheese Whiz and milk bones topped with peanut butter.

We welcomed Theo into our home October of 2023. We always say we rescued him from going to the shelter, a young boy was walking Theo leash free in our neighborhood. Theo was so small, very obedient and attentive to this young boy. The young boy said he was going to take him to SPCA because he was allergic to him, he only had him overnight and already knew it was not going to work.

This young boy and his father never had a pet before more so a puppy/dog. Long story short, we took Theo and gave him all the love and attention he deserved. At the time we had a Yellow Lab named Dudley, we truly believe it was divine intervention, our sweet Dudley boy brought Theo to us.

Three weeks later our beloved Dudley passed away at the age of eleven years and eleven months, Theo loved Dudley so much. We saved Theo and in return he saved us from the heartache of losing Dudley.

Theo began limping in April, X-rays were performed and in May he was diagnosed with a rare sub-type of Osteosarcoma. Theo had a complete amputation of his left shoulder and leg, he was now a tripawd.

Theo was such a brave, determined Silver Lab. Being a tripawd never held him back, Theo loved to run, chase balls and never left your side. Theo loved to drink water so much that it adorned our kitchen floor on a daily basis. He loved his “Daddy”, taking trips to DC where he worked, weekly visits to Lowe’s, the dump and most recently, a few trips to dad’s work in Fredericksburg at the VA. We created a bucket list, we were able to check a few off his list, in August we went to the beach in which Theo joined the family. We took nightly beach walks, he accompanied us to a local Taco joint for dinner and so much more. Theo loved to take car rides and was the best backseat passenger.

Our sweet boy Theo was not with us long however, the impact he had on our lives was immeasurable, Theo leaves behind his daddy, Richard and his mommy, Cindy. Human siblings and significant others. He also leaves behind his favorite canine companion Jake a Black Lab who is twelve years old, and his arch nemesis Milo a eight year old Husky. Our hearts are so saddened in more ways than we can describe. We loved Theo so much that we had to let him go, our lives were changed forever on that Fall day in October. We love you buddy, Forever and always!