Millions of Australians loved Dozer. Now RecipeTin Eats' Nagi Maehashi has said goodbye.

Nagi Maehashi's RecipeTin Eats recipes punctuate all of our biggest moments: Christmas, birthdays and celebratory lunches. 

Beside her, while she carefully crafts and painstakingly repeats her recipes, her right-hand man and official taste tester — her golden retriever, Dozer — has always been there.

So when her beloved best friend of almost 14 years recently fell ill with a double lung infection, Nagi took a step away from her work and promised to stay by his side every minute she could until the very end.

She did just that.

Overnight, Nagi confirmed that Dozer had taken his final breath.

"He didn't make it. My heart is shattered," Nagi wrote in a post to her Instagram followers.

"Dozer Maehashi. 26 April 2012 - 5 February 2026."

The RecipeTin Eats community is mourning Dozer.

In a montage video reflecting on Dozer's life, Nagi wrote that "Dozer was many things to many people".

"Chief Taste Tester, philanthropist, friend, cover boy, cookbook star, event host, chief cuddle officer, professional napper, playtime enthusiast, goofball," she continued.

"But to me, he was just my baby boy who loved me unconditionally.

"I loved him fiercely and completely and I will carry that with me forever.

"Thank you Dozer, for the best years of my life. I will love you and miss you forever."

Dozer has been a bright light in Nagi's life for almost 14 years and as she built her widely popular cooking brand, her followers and readers came to love him too.

At the bottom of her recipes, Nagi includes sweet anecdotes about the smiling fluff-ball, and over the years, he's become just as much the face of the brand as Nagi herself.

When Nagi released an emotional blog post last week sharing that Dozer had been critically ill and in hospital, the hearts of many RecipeTin Eats broke with hers.

Nagi shared that Dozer was in his 'final chapter' of life. 

Dozer is the official taste tester of RecipeTin Eats. Image: Instagram/@recipe_tin

"I've cried a thousand tears and there's a million more to come," she said in the post. 

Dozer was admitted to Sydney's Small Animal Specialist Hospital (SASH) almost a fortnight ago with pneumonia in both lungs.

While the infection itself may not have been life-threatening for a younger dog, Maehashi explained that Dozer's age and existing medical conditions — including laryngeal paralysis — made his prognosis far more serious.

Still, Dozer toughed it out for days.

Dozer and Nagi have become the faces of the brand. Image: Instagram/@recipe_tin

Twice he was discharged from hospital, with his lungs showing signs of healing and his vitals stabilised, only to be re-admitted when complications set in.

After multiple readmissions in the space of a single day, Maehashi said she was forced to confront the reality she had been trying to outrun.

"We're in the final chapter of Life of Dozer and we all know how the story will end," she wrote.

After that, Nagi simply hoped for time.

She has been by his side at SASH hosptial. Image: Instagram/@recipe_tin

Time for Dozer to go home, if possible, and do the things he loves most.

Spending time with his people. Scavenging around the table. Seeing his beach friends. And staying by her side, 24/7.

"All the neck rubs in the world. All the hugs, all the kisses, all the pats," she explained.

It seems Dozer and Nagi never got that extra time.

Nagi revealed that Dozer passed away on Thursday, 5 February — soon after she made her last update on his health.

For long-time RecipeTin Eats readers, Dozer is far more than a background detail.

He is woven into the fabric of the site itself — the "official taste tester", the silent witness to recipe testing chaos, the golden retriever who lounged beneath kitchen benches and popped up unexpectedly in cookbooks, blog posts and Instagram stories.

Fans have followed Dozer's life, his beach days, his scavenging habits, his expressive eyes, forming a rare connection and deeply parasocial bond. 

The outpouring of love beneath Maehashi's post about Dozer's death has reached the tens of thousands of comments as Nagi's community mourns with her.

The Instagram bio of the official RecipeTin Eats account literally reads, 'Nagi & Dozer'. Image: Instagram/@recipe_tin

While she stayed by Dozer's side, Nagi announced she would be stepping back from RecipeTin Eats. During her absence, head chef Jean-Baptiste Alexandre will take over operations.

Maehashi thanked her audience for the role they've played in Dozer's life — and hers.

"Thank you for all the years of love you've shown Dozer, for sharing your own fur baby stories, and for making him feel so deeply adored far beyond our little world," she wrote.

Dozer may be gone now, but he will live on in Nagi's heart and in the hearts of those who came to love him.

Dozer, rest in peace.

Dozer is in the fan's thoughts. Image: Instagram/@recipe_tin

Featured image: Instagram/@recipe_tin