Tika the Iggy, the dog who became one of the cutest fashion influencers on social media, has died.
The Italian Greyhound’s owners shared the sad news on Monday that the adorable pooch had passed on at the ripe old age of 14.
In an Instagram post featuring an uncharacteristically somber photo of Tika, her owners revealed that she had died shortly after undergoing an operation to remove tumors in her liver.
Tika — who boasted the late fashion star Iris Apfel as a fan — became an internet sensation thanks to her owners Thomas Shapiro and his husband Louis, who dressed her in a bevy of cute outfits for her own Instagram page, and she boasted an eye-popping follower count of over 1.6 million.
She tended to wear playful costumes more than haute couture, and she recently was dressed up as the eye of Sauron when the family wore Lord Of The Rings costumes this Halloween.
In his lengthy caption, Shapiro spoke about his final days with Tika as her health suffered.
Tika the Iggy, the Italian Greyhound who became one of the cutest fashion influencers on social media, has died at 14, her owners revealed Monday on Instagram
Her owners revealed that she had died shortly after undergoing an operation to remove two tumors in her liver
I really thought you were going to live forever. I thought we had more time, but there are things we cannot control. Our hearts are shattered,’ he wrote.
According to Shapiro, Tika was suffering from a pair of tumors in her liver, even though she had still been active and energetic at the time they were discovered.
Veterinarians apparently recommended the dog have surgery to remove the tumors, despite her advanced age.Â
Shapiro initially thought Tika’s ‘surgery went very well’ after the masses were removed, and he said there weren’t any obvious complications once she was discharged from the animal hospital.
He said all seemed well at first, as the fashionista had her favorite food (chicken) on the night she returned home.
‘But after your second day home, something had changed. You looked so tired, not quite yourself, yet peaceful,’ Shapiro continued, addressing his message to his late pet.
What vets initially thought was just lethargy from pain killers turned out to be signs of something much more serious.Â
‘We soon found out that it was your body that was slowly giving up, and we were told that there wasn’t anything we could have done that day to prevent it from happening,’ Shapiro wrote. ‘It is sadly a risk that comes with surgery on senior dogs.’
Tika became an internet sensation thanks to her owners Thomas Shapiro (L) and his husband Louis (R), who dressed her in a bevy of cute outfits for her own Instagram page. She boasted over 1.6M followers
Tika, who had joined her family for Lord Of The Rings–inspired Halloween costumes this year, began to seem lethargic a day after her surgery
‘We soon found out that it was your body that was slowly giving up, and we were told that there wasn’t anything we could have done that day to prevent it from happening,’ Shapiro wrote. ‘It is sadly a risk that comes with surgery on senior dogs’
He added that Tika spent her ‘last moments at home, held by your favorite dads’
‘You spent your last moments at home, held by your favorite dads,’ he continued. ‘We feel numb and lost now that you are gone, but we are so grateful you were surrounded by your family during your last moments.’
Shapiro wrote that he and Louis wished that Tika could still be with them to light up their lives.Â
‘You were supposed to prance through your golden years. We just hope you know how deeply you were loved, Tika. By us, but also by so many others who came to know you,’ he wrote. ‘You truly loved meeting new friends, and you were larger than life.’
Shaprio concluded by asking Tika’s fans to ‘be gentle in the comments section,’ as he and Louis were ‘extremely hurt’ by their recent loss.
