Ragnar spent more than a decade comforting families at Oakey’s Funeral Services, attending more than 1,000 funerals and helping people who were withdrawn find a way to open up.
After nearly a decade of service, Oakey wanted Ragnar to take time to enjoy his golden years surrounded by happier times. But one week after he retired in October of 2025, the golden retriever was diagnosed with B-cell lymphoma, a form of cancer.
Ragnar’s owner, Sam Oakey, and the staff at Oakey’s turned to the Animal Cancer Care and Research Center for treatment. The center performed surgery to remove the cancer and started Ragnar on chemotherapy.
“He was referred to us, and we did some special testing to find out what type of lymphoma he had and developed a specialized treatment plan for him,” said Chief Medical Officer Dr. Beatrix Manning.
“He’s doing great, and he’s almost, he’s more than halfway through his treatment.”
Veterinarians now say Ragnar is in remission. Doctors estimate the treatment has given him roughly another year of good-quality life that he would not have had without care, and his spirits remain high despite some hair loss from chemotherapy.
“It really has kind of brought him back to life,” said owner Sam Oakey.
Staff and family members describe Ragnar as more than a workplace companion. He is credited with making emotional connections at services where people otherwise might not have engaged.
“He’s very sensitive, he’s very attuned to the emotions in the room and he truly does want to comfort people,” Oakey said. “He’s my best friend, he means so much to our staff and our family and I think the community, it’s been evident over the years. I think he’s helped people in times where even our funeral directors and our human staff maybe couldn’t make those connections with some people who are so withdrawn but they’ll open up to Ragnar. So he’s done work that I think no one else could do.”
One long time staff member, Kenneth Huges, described the bond simply and emotionally.
“I don’t know what I would do without him, I love him that much, said Hughes. “Everybody says what I do for Ragnar, but it’s what he does for me too, because we all go through something.”
When the diagnosis arrived, Oakey said it felt overwhelming.
“It was the worst day of my life really. It was terrifying and like an emotional tidal wave but really the saving grace was the veterinary staff that we’ve been so blessed to work with,” Oakey said.
Oakey and the team at the cancer center credit the relationship between caregivers and families — both human and animal — for helping navigate the treatment process.
“Well they’ve certainly given us time with them, but they’ve given us peace of mind, they’ve given us structure and kind of a vision for what to expect, both in quality of life and time here on Earth,” Oakey said. “They’ve just been, you know, they cried with us, they laughed with us and they’ve just been angels to us.”
Dr. Beatrix Manning framed care for patients like Ragnar as a payback for the comfort service animals provide.
“That’s why we are doing what we’re doing, just to help these doggies. It’s kind of a payback, right? He was a service dog. He provided so much. He comforted so much, so it’s our turn to comfort his family and help him to live longer in a good quality life and have a good-quality life,” Dr. Manning said.
For now, Ragnar is spending his retirement living out his golden years with the people who love him and the funeral-home community he served.