Man’s best friend. Sully, George H.W. Bush’s beloved service dog, is mourning the loss of his owner.
Jim McGrath, a spokesperson for Bush — who passed away on Friday, November 30, at the age of 94 — shared a heartbreaking photo of the Golden Retriever resting in front of the former president’s casket.
“Mission complete. #Remembering41,” McGrath tweeted alongside the picture on Sunday, December 2. The following day, the canine traveled from Houston to Washington with Bush’s body as it was flown in for funeral services. The loyal sidekick was seen leading his owner’s casket out of a Houston funeral home earlier Monday morning.
Bush’s son George W. Bush revealed in an Instagram post that the highly trained service pup — who was named after former airline pilot Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger III — will now return to service at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
“As much as our family is going to miss this dog, we’re comforted to know he’ll bring the same joy to his new home, Walter Reed, that he brought to 41,” the grieving son wrote alongside an Instagram picture on Sunday.
News of George H.W.’s death came on Friday, just seven months after he lost his beloved wife, Barbara, who passed away on April 17 at the age of 92.
“George Herbert Walker Bush, World War II naval aviator, Texas oil pioneer, and 41st president of the United States of America, died on November 30, 2018,” a statement from his office read. “He was 94 and is survived by his five children and their spouses, 17 grandchildren, eight great grandchildren, and two siblings. He was preceded in death by his wife of 73 years, Barbara; his second child Pauline Robinson ‘Robin’ Bush; and his brothers Prescott and William or ‘Bucky’ Bush. Funeral arrangements will be announced as soon as is practical.”
The late president arrived to Washington, D.C. on Monday, December 3, where he will lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda until Wednesday, December 5. He will then be honored by family and friends at a funeral at Washington National Cathedral.
