Teddy was the Zhou family dog. April 20, 2014 to January 20, 2025.
The Memorial
On January 20, 2025, Amy posted on Instagram: "Goodnight my sweet Teddy bear angel ❤️ you will always be our best friend forever."
The tone is family-loss. This is someone grieving a member of the household, not a pet. Old posts of Teddy go back to 2016, meaning Teddy was present through the worst of the Peoria years: Sue's death, the grandparents, the move to Stanford. The dog outlived Amy's mother by nearly a decade.
The Last Week
The iMessage record of Teddy's death is the most emotional family event in the archive.
January 13: George notices Teddy having a hard time breathing, video-calls about it. "Teddys having a hard time breathing." "Take teddy to vet tomorrow plz." Dad makes vet appointment at Davis Animal Wellness Center for 2:30pm.
January 14 (bad news): Dad: "Bad news." "Teddy very likely has an end stage cancer. Metastasis to lung." "It is a very aggressive cancer from spleen. Teddy will die anytime from either severe anemia or trouble breathing. Vet recommended to put him down."
Amy: "How can we fix it." "Can we fix it."
Amy flew home. The family rallied. Dad ordered an oxygen generator and nebulizer from Amazon. George stayed home from UCLA: "my lectures are recorded." George fed Teddy raw meat, tried the nebulizer. Amy bought an oxygen machine. They gave Teddy Chinese medicine mixed with sweet potato.
January 16: George: "Teddy always happy to see you" (to dad).
January 18: Amy: "Gave Teddy 11am of oxygen."
January 20: Teddy passed away. Amy messaged at least three group chats. Taylor: "Teddy was fluffy angel on earth </3." Jessie: "I'm sorry amy :,( teddy was fr the best dog I've ever known." Elena (Peoria friend): "Amy I'm so sorry to hear about Teddy and his cancer."
Nalin Semwal had been supportive throughout: "oh no i hope he gets better," "I'm here if you need to talk abt anything," "just spend time w teddy fr now," "it's cool to take a week or two off." They had just had their first zoo date the day before.
Timing
Teddy died on January 20, 2025. Amy was still at Taya, still grinding, still using drugs to stay awake. The family dog died while Amy was at her lowest. She would leave Taya ten months later.
Teddy arrived in April 2014, shortly after the family moved from Guilderland to Peoria. He was the first new member of the household in the new city. He was there for everything that came after.
George is scared to go back to the Davis family house because "no more teddy" (April 2025).
What's Not Said
Amy's Instagram memorial uses "our best friend forever." The "our" is doing work. This is not just Amy's dog. This is the Zhou family dog, the one that belonged to a family that got smaller over the years. Amy's mother died. The grandparents died. George left for UCLA. Amy left for Stanford. Jason stayed in Peoria with Teddy. And then Teddy was gone too.