Gun Kenworthy and boyfriend Matthew Wilkas are fathers again … to another adorable dog! The couple adopted a 5-month-old Jindo/Labrador mix from the same South Korea dog meat farm where they found their last dog, Beemo.
“The day Matt and I visited the horrifying dog meat farm in South Korea, we witnessed a mother dog giving birth to a litter of pups,” the 26-year-old wrote on Instagram on Thursday, August 2, alongside a photo of himself with the new canine. “A few weeks later when all 90 of the dogs on that farm (including Beemo) were flown to North America, that mother and her newborn litter were the only ones that stayed behind because the pups were too young to travel.”
After Beemo died of a heart defect in May, Kenworthy felt “completely empty,” as he revealed on Instagram. So the Olympic skier reached out to Humane Society International to inquire about that litter that had to be left behind. “I found out that they were still in Korea and I began getting photo and video updates on them as I waited for another farm closure and an opportunity for them to be brought to the States,” he wrote. “That finally happened and four days ago I picked this little girl up in DC.”
He and Wilkas, a 40-year-old actor known for his roles in Gayby and Undateable, named their new pet Birdie, since birds were one of Beemo’s favorite things. “Nothing in the world could ever replace Beemo or the love that we felt and still feel for her but Birdie has already stolen a new place in our hearts and we’re excited to be dog dads again,” Kenworthy explained, giving big thanks to Humane Society International.
Kenworthy said he’ll post photos of the pup on Beemo’s old Instagram account, @b_pups. “I was nervous that would seem disrespectful to Beemo’s memory but I actually LOVE the idea that both of my beautiful little girls will share the page,” the silver medalist wrote. “Also, a huge part of the reason I started Beemo’s page in the first place was to continue promoting animal rescue and raise awareness for the dog meat trade … #DogsAreFriendsNotFood #AdoptDontShop.”
