A dog’s devotion to its owner cannot be questioned. They will stick by their human side even in the worst situations.
11-year-old lab Gunner was a very devoted dog.
He has never abandoned Daniel Hove. He accompanied his human everywhere they went. They ended up becoming both best friends and hunting partners.
Gunner was with Daniel when the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer was made.
Gunner remained faithful throughout.
Despite being a large dog, he would approach Daniel and the two would cuddle. They would pass the entire day doing that.
“They were best buddies till the end. They were hunting buddies, they went everywhere together,” Daniel’s daughter, Heather Nicoletti, said in an interview Kare 11.
The former Air Force member and his dog were inseparable.
But eventually, Gunner became ill.
The family noted how perfectly in tune the two were, so this was somewhat expected.
Heather, Daniel’s daughter, revealed that she and her family mostly based their assumptions about her father’s daily health on his dog.
“My dad was unresponsive, the dog was unresponsive. So once we saw how the dog was doing–he wasn’t moving much anymore, not doing well– we knew, it was coming.”
Gunner started to get drowsy one day.
He started to feel worse, and his arms started to swell. Heather realized it was time to bid her father’s dog farewell at that point.
She gave the clinic where she once worked a call. They had already put her dad’s cherished dog to sleep when she arrived. As he passed, he was right there next to him.
Daniel left within an hour and a half as well.
The family couldn’t help but feel that the devoted warrior would pass away shortly after learning what had happened to Gunner. They collaborated on everything, after all.
“Gunner could not be without my dad. I think he chose to go with him,” Heather continued.
They didn’t anticipate that they would die so soon after one another, though. The ones that Gunner and Daniel left behind suffered a severe blow when they lost both of them in the space of 90 minutes.
The family was inconsolable.
Saying farewell to a loved one is always so difficult. Heather found solace in the knowledge that her father never truly had to say goodbye to his faithful, affectionate, and obedient dog.
In some ways, his death couldn’t have gone anymore smoothly. He wouldn’t be traveling to the afterlife by himself. Now, his best friend will be by his side forever.
Daniel and Gunner will now be able to live together pain-free for all time.
They were at least spared the agony of bidding farewell to one another in that way by the family.
“I had said I don’t know what’s going to be more traumatic for him. To try to take him away to end–to put him to sleep– to end his suffering, or if you let him live through dad dying. I think either way it’s going to kill him. We knew they were going to go together. We just didn’t know it was going to be hours apart,” -Heather shared.
To see some of Gunner and his father’s most treasured moments together, watch the video below.
Source: Ronproject
