From Drago:

I have been dragging my feet to share this publicly because putting it into words makes it heartbreakingly real.

Our beloved little boy, Magnus the Magnificent, also known as Magnus Schnoodle, is no longer with us in physical form. He passed on June 11, 2025 leaving our hearts utterly heartbroken.

I was not a dog person, not until Magnus.

He transformed my life.

He transformed me.

Magnus filled my life with joy, laughter, and wonder, every single day without fail. He showed me the true meaning of unconditional love. For 18 beautiful years, he was my constant companion, my devoted service dog, and my doggy soulmate. In all those years, we were apart only a handful of times.

Magnus was born in Minnesota and came into our lives at just nine weeks of age. I had never been a dog guardian before, and I did not know what to expect. What I experienced as a doggy dad was nothing short of extraordinary.

On his very first day in his new home, Magnus quickly learned the “sit” command in ASL, and from then on, he continually astonished us, and everyone who met him, with his brilliance.

There are smart dogs and then there’s Magnus. He was in a category all his own.

Magnus wasn’t just smart. He was genius-level smart. His IQ was off-the-charts.

Magnus’ capacity for learning seemed limitless, held back only by the limits of my ability to teach and guide him. Over his extraordinary lifetime, Magnus mastered more than 1,000 ASL signs and memorized the names of more than 500 toys (we stopped counting at 500). He could answer yes-or-no questions, solve puzzles in seconds, recognize numbers 1 through 10, understand complex concepts, and even tell us what he wanted for dinner. Time after time, he found astonishingly creative ways to communicate his thoughts, needs, and desires, leaving us in awe of his brilliance..

Magnus also loved performing. Together, we gave shows that delighted and flabbergasted audiences of all ages, amazing them with his remarkable intelligence.

Last year we learned that Magnus belonged to an exceptionally rare category of dogs known as Gifted Word Learners (GWL). A research team spent five years searching the globe for gifted dogs like Magnus. Out of more than 900 million dogs worldwide, they only found 41 that could memorize the names of 100 or more toys or objects, making Magnus extremely rare and gifted. Of course, we all already knew he was special. This study simply confirmed what we all knew.

We also learned that one of the best known GWLs was a Border Collie named Chaser. Chaser was able to learn over 1,000 toy names after spending four to five hours a day in structured trainings. Magnus, in contrast, spent only 10 to 15 minutes a day learning toy names before meals. For us, it was a fun game we played together. Most of the time, I needed only to show him a toy or object, say/sign its name twice, and the name was permanently imprinted in his memory.

Magnus also understood that every toy/object had two names: one in voice and one in ASL. We had to record videos and catalog the toys in photos because I could not remember them all, though Magnus rarely forgot. Even after months of not seeing a particular toy, if I brought it out, placed it with his other toys and then asked him to retrieve it, Magnus would bring it back with perfect accuracy nearly every time. He was truly a gifted and amazing being.

He also understood that I was deaf. One example of this was when I taught him the “speak” (bark) command. When I would instruct him to “speak”, he appeared to visually bark. BUT (I would learn from Jennifer) he did not use his voice with me. When Jennifer or another person gave him the same command, he’d bark loudly.

For nearly two decades, Jennifer and I traveled the country giving trans-related educational workshops, and Magnus accompanied us to every single one of them after joining our family. He made such an impact that he was even included in a cartoon.

Magnus was present in our work, our travels, and virtually every part of our daily lives. He went with us to places most people never imagine a dog could go, and in doing so he wove himself into the fabric of our story and touched the lives of those who had the privilege of meeting him.

For a 20-pound dog, Magnus had a big personality, and he loved and was loved by so many of you.

I cannot adequately describe the devastation of losing him. We knew he could not live forever, and we are incredibly grateful for the years we were gifted with him. He was never just a pet to us. He was family. He was our child.

I have so many beautiful memories of Magnus that I will forever treasure.

One memory that remains especially vivid: Years ago, I had a cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal surgery), and a complication required me to remain in the hospital for an additional nine days. During that time, Jennifer brought Magnus to visit me every day. He would lie quietly by my side, so gentle and clearly aware that I was in pain.

When I finally returned home, I struggled to climb the two flights of stairs to our flat and then to our bedroom. As I laid down on our bed, Magnus leapt up onto the foot of the bed and rushed towards me excitedly. My first thought was, “Oh shit! He’s going to jump on my stomach and onto the incision!”

I held my breath and braced myself for the impact.

But he did not.

Instead, he rushed to the head of the bed, plopped down on my pillow and then lovingly and gently rested his chin on my forehead.

He understood.

I could feel so much love and tenderness radiating from him that I choked up.

For the next year or so, his favorite place to sleep each night would be above my pillow.

He was such a beautiful being. I feel so privileged to have been his dad. It has been one of the greatest gifts and joys of my life.

I do not know what awaits us beyond this life, but I hope with all my heart that we will be reunited with Magnus one day.

I will love you to the moon and back, forever, Magnus.

****

From Jennifer

Dear Ones,

Our beloved Magnus has left the physical form. We’ve taken some time to write about it publicly, because for us, the loss is enormous and difficult to convey. He was so much more than a dog to us.

He lived to 18 years and one month. He became ill suddenly while Drago was out of town, as our beloveds often do. I quickly took him to the vet and eventually I admitted him to the ER while Drago caught an emergency flight home. Of course, this happened on a weekend, so it took a while to get any answers. We asked the vet to do all they could for him. We would eventually learn that he had a ruptured ulcer and mass on his spleen, very likely cancerous. Further investigation would be very invasive and he likely would not survive the process. Whatever those tests would reveal would also likely not be survivable for him. He had also stopped eating and drinking on his own. We started to accept that his time in this body was ending. 

My beloved partner knew we needed to bring Magnus home for his final hours, and, with lots of medicines to keep him comfortable, we brought him to “his” room. We showered him with love and gentle pats, eye contact and water. He declined to eat except for one last bite of chicken, probably to please his beloved Papi who had cooked up a storm for him of all his favorite foods.

We realized the next morning that we couldn’t make him wait any longer for our sake. I began calling vets that come to your home to free pets from their ailing bodies. Almost magically, Dr Faith Albright had a cancellation at noon that day. I immediately “heard” her name in my mind as “have faith; it’s alright.” She was exactly the person we needed. I’ll forever be grateful that she was able to become a sacred part of our story that day.

My mom rushed up from San Jose to say goodbye and help hold space. Dr Faith explained what to expect, and with immense sadness and sacredness, we freed our precious boy. 

We cremated our precious boy’s body, knowing that his spirit, his heart, his love can never die. 

We will never be the same. And that is part of the sacredness of loving.

Fly free my precious, precious Magnus. I will never not miss you.

***

Thank you for reading and being part of Magnus’ life.

More photos of Magnus can be found on his social media accounts:

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/theschnoodle.com

FB: https://www.facebook.com/theschnoodle

IG: https://www.instagram.com/theschnoodle/

Posted on National Dog Day / 08/26/2025

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