Dancing With the Stars judge Derek Hough and his wife, Hayley Erbert, are mourning the death of their beloved dog.
“Romie came into my life when I was just trying to figure life out, it was just me and him,” Hough, 41, wrote via Instagram on Sunday, October 25. “And for a long time, he was my constant. He saw me at my worst and at my best. He loved me through it all and somehow gave me purpose when I couldn’t find it myself. He watched me grow up, fall in love, become a husband.”
Hough continued, “And when he started to get tired, I asked him to hold on so he could meet his little sister, and he kept his promise. He held on. Waking up without him feels unreal. I keep looking at that spot where he’d usually come around the bushes, waiting, hoping. It’s strange to know he won’t come around that bend again. But thank you, my boy, for choosing us, for carrying me, for giving me so much.”
Hough wrote that “there’s an ache that feels unbearable,” but noted that “it’s also proof that love lived here fully.”
“And you always will,” he concluded. “Goodbye for now my sweet sweet Romie Boy 💔🐕.”
Alongside the message, Hough shared a video of Romie looking at the camera before walking across a garden and disappearing behind a bush.
“14 years by my side. I miss you so much already,” he wrote over the clip. “My heart aches. Goodbye my son. My Romie boy. I will love you forever.”
Erbert, 32, shared her own tribute to their dog alongside videos of Romie through the years. In one clip, Erbert and Hough’s 9-month-old daughter, Everley, crawled with their dog.
“Romie boy. My buddy boy. 🐻♥️,” Erbert wrote via Instagram on Sunday. “This ache is unlike anything. For 11 beautiful years, I had the privilege of loving you with my whole heart and being loved by you in return. You were the first dog I called mine after moving to Los Angeles, and I couldn’t have asked for a better companion over the years.”
She continued, “My OG adventure buddy, my snuggler, the leader of our pack, and our sweet, gentle 65lb boy who thought he was a lap dog and loved with his entire being. You were there for it all and showed us what unconditional love truly means, and I hope you felt every ounce of our love for you in return, until the very end.”
Erbert went on to thank Hough for “bringing Romie into [her] life.”
“He was truly the best boy, the greatest protector of our family, the sweetest big brother to Luna and Everley, and he will be the best guardian angel,” she wrote. “Eleven years with you will never feel like enough, but what a gift it was to be loved by you. I will carry you with me and love you for the rest of my life. I miss you so much. Until we find each other again, my buddy boy. ♥️🐻.”
