Hopper

Namesake: Grace Hopper

Personal Twitter: hopper\_dog

Hopper was the founding member of the Golden Ratio squad and was later crowned its queen, ruling over the squad with a benevolent paw and routinely forgiving small insults (like the many times she was stepped on during mealtimes by her over-enthusiastic sister Venkman). Named for the scientist Grace Hopper, her full name was Hopper T. Dog (with the middle initial standing for "The"). She and Venk (her biological half-sister) were the only two Golden Ratio dogs to be adopted as puppies, rather than rescued as adults. Known for her amazing long ear floof, Hopper was a certified therapy dog who worked with P.A.L. to give certified hugs. In her youth, she was GR Mom's #1 running pal.

Hopper had a great love of water, often stopping on runs in Maryland to go swimming in the forest—ignoring the weather to swim in chilly temperatures even as leaves froze into her floof. Following the family's move to the Florida Keys, she became a beach queen: swimming in the ocean, watching over her fish (or "feesh") friends, and luxuriating in the sand to play ball (or "böl") with GR Dad. She was mildly obsessed with a large rock located on the Keys property, nicknamed Dwayne Johnson (and was more than mildly obsessed with GR Dad). At one point, Hops became a bit of a local celebrity with the tour charter boats that passed the house. (GR Mom was tempted to put up a sign: "Her name is Hopper, say hi.")

Often described as "perfect" or "teh best dog," Hopper had basically no flaws... with a few arguable exceptions. As a puppy, she developed a rather large flowering wart on her nose, which was nicknamed "Wilfred" by GR Mom. Though the wart later dissolved, it was taken as evidence that even the most beautiful of dogs can have an awkward phase. In Maryland, she was sometimes caught breaking into GR Mom's garden and placing her floofy butt on the oregano. At times she was a diva about needing cheese on her food, and was occasionally known for being "emo." Long before her dinner-loving brother Chief Brody arrived, Hops pioneered the concept of "Second Dinner," sometimes insisting that one just wasn't enough (to the skepticism of GR Mom and Dad). She also perfected a game of driving Guacamole crazy: lounging nonchalantly with a tennis ball tucked near or under one ear while Guac would gaze at it covetously and bark.

In the summer of 2021, Hopper developed significant pain in her right front leg. Initially diagnosed with a hygroma (a fluid-filled swelling), she wore elbow pads to protect her joints and was often seen wearing them in the snaps and other social media. That September, however, vets discovered she'd been misdiagnosed: Hopper actually had synovial sarcoma, a rare form of cancer. On September 30th, 2021, Hopper's right front leg was amputated. Happy to be free of the pain in her leg, she responded well to becoming a "tripawd," coming home just one day after surgery. Following the amputation, concern and support flowed in from GR fans around the world, causing both "Hopper T" and "Hops" to trend on Twitter for days afterward.

Although Hopper was a founding member of Team Cronch, she was later drawn to roasties—especially after the amputation made it difficult to hold a cronchy carrot while also chomping it. GR Dad solved the problem by lovingly serving her with either roasties or baby carrots (sometimes chopping full-sized carrots into "baby carrots" just for her).

Given an estimated 6-18 months to live after her amputation, Hopper surpassed expectations, living nearly another 21 months. In her later months, however, arthritis in her remaining front leg caused increasing pain and loss of mobility. Many solutions were attempted, including a leg brace (decorated in pink skulls) and a cart-style "dog wheelchair" for her front half—but neither worked very well for her. Several pharmaceuticals were tried, including fentanyl patches.

In search of other options, Hopper traveled with GR Dad on two epic road trips, enjoying some treasured "alone time" with her beloved human. They traveled first to THE Ohio State University (the official name was a little joke on podcasts) to pursue an experimental knee replacement surgery. To everyone's disappointment, Hopper was not considered a candidate for surgery—though an injection she received at OSU did lessen her pain for a while. When she eventually deteriorated further, GR Mom and Dad worked with a Canadian Friend of The Squad to arrange a trip to a Niagara Falls vet for an injection of Librela—an arthritis drug recently approved for use in the U.S. but not yet available from vets. Hopper and GR Dad enjoyed a lovely Niagara Falls "honeymoon," where Hopper was wheeled around in a red travel cart and greatly admired by locals and tourists around the Falls. She traveled home with a supply of Librela along with a cute Canadian bandana and assorted gifts for all her siblings.

Sadly, Hopper's pain kept increasing despite the Librela. While the drug takes about a month to kick in fully, vets agreed that if she was feeling no improvement after two weeks, it probably wouldn't help her. It was even theorized that her cancer may have returned in her remaining front leg. On June 24, 2023, @TheGoldenRatio4 announced on Twitter that Hopper had crossed the Rainbow Bridge the previous evening. She had been given a wonderful sendoff, enjoying a final swim and a perfect sunset paddleboard ride with GR Mom. In her last minutes, she was given an entire "XL" Hershey bar, which she enjoyed with great delight, asking for more even as she was given the injection to make her unconscious. She was happy and loved as she crossed the Rainbow Bridge.

More trivia:

In her downtime, Hopper hosted her own social media series, "Hops on Hops," where she reviewed beers including the following:

* Budweiser
* Swizzle Hard Cider
* Isla Hard Seltzer
* Michelob Ultra
* Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter
* Blackwing Lager
* Guinness Baltimore Blonde
* Prost Brewing Märzen
* Summer Splash SIPA
* Golden Wheatriever

In addition to her official Twitter account, @hopper\_dog, Hops was celebrated with fan accounts including @EmoHopperTDog, @hopswith3legs, @HopperLeg, @PerfectHopper, @HopsOrVenk, and @BestestSeester.

Song:

Hopper T, she's on the property

She is the dog of we,

We love her much, you see

Because she's Hopper T on the property

Sweet soft fluffy dog Hopper T

Sweet soft fluffy dog friend of we

1. ↑ https://twitter.com/TheGoldenRatio4/status/1301912510157729792
2. ↑ [1]
3. ↑ [2]
4. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/Ct4FLT-urFh/