About Tuckerly

Tuckerly started with a dog named Tucker — and, before that, with the hardest year of our lives.

In 2020, our 12-year-old son was diagnosed with anti-NMDA autoimmune encephalitis and fell into a coma that lasted five months. He turned 13 while he was still unconscious. We sat beside his hospital bed and read him more than 3,000 birthday cards that people sent from all over the world. Hundreds of strangers donated to help our family. Millions prayed. He made a full recovery, and he's thriving today — but that year permanently changed how I understand what a community can do for someone in their darkest moment.

Through all of it, there was Tucker.

Tucker was our English cream Labrador Retriever, and he was the steadiest presence in our house. He always seemed to know — if you were sick, if you were hurting, or if you just wanted to sit on the couch and watch TV, he was right there beside you. He loved long walks and he loved people, every one of them. He was loyal in the way only a good dog can be. When our family was breaking, Tucker was the one who stayed calm and close.

When Tucker lost his own battle with cancer, the grief hit harder than we expected. He had carried us through so much, and the house felt impossibly quiet without him.

I built Tuckerly in his memory, and out of everything that year taught me. When people come together to hold someone up, it matters — it changes things in ways that are hard to put into words. Grief over a pet is real grief, and too often people move through it without anyone acknowledging it. Tuckerly exists so that no one has to honor a beloved animal alone.

It's a place where anyone can create a free, lasting memorial for a pet they've loved and lost — write it yourself, or let us help with the words, because during grief the right words are often the hardest part. Share photos. Light a virtual candle. Let friends and family leave their own memories. All of it free, for as long as we can keep it that way.

This was made with love — for Tucker, for our son, and for every pet who's left paw prints on someone's heart. 🐾

— Matt Staton, Founder