Shredder

**Shredder** (September 4, 2017 – August 30, 2023) was the pet dog of Ethan and Hila Klein. He was of the Yorkshire Terrier (yorkie) breed.

Shredder made numerous appearances on the podcast, as well as in vlogs, social media posts, and stories told on the podcast; along with the Kleins' second pet dog, Alfredo. He passed away on August 30, 2023 at the age of 6 due to kidney failure. On September 1, 2023, the Kleins announced that the third child they are expecting will be named in honor of Shredder.

## History

Shredder first appeared on the podcast as a puppy in H3 Podcast #42, which was an interview with Philip DeFranco. Producer of the podcast, Dan, had set up a Shredder Cam to switch over to, which switched the podcast's view to a live-view of Shredder in a doggy crate.

Shredder made numerous appearances in various podcast episodes, where he was usually heard barking in the background, or seen on-screen cradled by Ethan or Hila. Being a member of the Klein family, he was also frequently seen in various vlogs and social media posts.

## Illness and death

On January 26, 2023, in H3TV #62, Ethan and Hila announced that Shredder was having some health complications, and that a veterinarian had given an initial diagnosis of terminal kidney failure. They were unsure what caused this, but stated that he did not have much longer to live.

By March 2023, Shredder's condition was getting better, and the Kleins were focusing on figuring out what the possible diagnosis could be, if not kidney failure. They had placed him on a special veggie/healthy diet. On Leftovers #43, Ethan stated that he was taking Shredder to a kidney specialist after the episode's end.

Ethan gave various updates on Shredder's condition throughout this time. On August 29, 2023, it was announced via X (formerly Twitter) and a YouTube community post that the show was going on short hiatus while Ethan and Hila took time to attend to Shredder as he was not doing so well. On August 30, 2023, Ethan posted to Instagram announcing that Shredder had passed away at the age of 6, less than one week shy of his 7th birthday. In his Instagram post, Ethan made the following statement:

> *"I lost my best friend Shredder today. I am in immense pain but also grateful for the time we shared. Shredder was the physical embodiment of mine and Hila’s love, it’s not hyperbole to say he was our first child. He changed me, made me softer, more loving, more empathetic. I knew true companionship, and unconditional love. He died young, almost 6 years old, from kidney failure. It feels bitterly unfair, but I know people lose loved ones early all the time, so I am trying my best to remain grateful for the beautiful life and times we had. He was a fierce protector, often times lunging even at my own family, if they reached for me too quickly (clearly a behavioral problem, but it was his nature to love and protect us. He was also too small to hurt anyone so it was more endearing than troublesome.) He would bark at delivery trucks driving by, convinced that he alone had scared them off (at 10 pounds). He first fell ill with stage 4 kidney disease 6 months ago and he fought with all his love to pull through. When he first came back home, we thought he may make a full recovery. But soon the blood tests showed his kidney had not recovered and the disease would ultimately take him. It’s been a desperately difficult 6 months as I wondered when the unthinkable would happen. Hoping and dreaming, against my better judgement, that he would magically recover, or stabilize for a significantly longer time. That’s sadly not what happened. But what did happen is that we had a wonderful, love filled 6 months together, the majority of time he was his incredible self.*
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> *All this rambling to say this: I love you forever shredder, our perfect beautiful boy.*
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> *1st pic is him a year or two ago before he fell ill. The 2nd and 3rd pic are from today, his last day."*
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