Meredith Gaudreau mourned the loss of her beloved dog as the two-year anniversary of her husband Johnny Gaudreau’s death looms.
“Through it all my boy 🖤. With John now,” Meredith wrote via Instagram on Tuesday, August 4. “So many good pics, some of my favorites of my favorites 😘. Love you forever my Kingy.”
Meredith shared a carousel of photos from the dog’s life, most of which featured her late husband. Kingy was 10.
NHL star Johnny, 31, and his brother, Matthew Gaudreau, were struck and killed by an alleged drunk driver while riding bicycles the night before their sister Katie’s wedding on August 29, 2024.
Friends and followers left their messages of support for Meredith on Tuesday, including Odette Werenski, the wife of Columbus Blue Jackets star and one of Johnny’s best friends, Zach Werenski.
“Love you so much ❤️❤️ Kingy was the best and luckiest boy 🌈🫶🏻,” Odette wrote.
Over the years, Meredith shared how Kingy had become a guard dog of sorts for her growing family.
“My baby boy with my baby girl 🖤🩷,” Meredith shared via Instagram in December 2023, alongside a photo of the dog and her daughter, Noa.
Meredith and Johnny shared Noa, 3, and sons Johnny Jr., 2, and Carter, 16 months.
“Level up protectiveness 🖤🖤,” she shared via Instagram in December 2022, sharing photos of the dog by her side shortly after Noa’s birth.
Meredith often celebrated Kingy’s birthday on social media. To celebrate him turning 5 in October 2020, she wrote, “Love my Kingy more and more every second 🖤.”
When Kingy turned 3 in 2018, Meredith called him “the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
In an essay for The Players’ Tribune in June 2025, Meredith recalled how Kingy was there the first time Johnny came into her life.
“Do you remember the day we met? I do,” she wrote. “The summer of 2018, in Avalon. I had just finished a shift at the Children’s Hospital, and I was sitting on the couch with Kingy lying at my feet. Do you remember how scary looking everyone thought he was? I was with him, just exhausted from my shift. I was in my sweats. Tyler was having a birthday party and you know how my sister is, she wanted to have everyone over.”
Meredith continued, “They’d take one look at me and Kingy and head upstairs to see everyone. I remember there was this knock on the door, so I got up and went to answer it. And it was you. You had those little brown eyes, and a fohawk. And you just kind of looked at me for a second. ‘Hey. I’m Johnny,’ you said.”
