As “The Daily Show” wound down on Monday night, host Jon Stewart began talking about his dog Dipper. But less than a minute into the segment, Stewart stopped and pulled out a box of tissues, and it immediately became clear that he had bad news.
“I wanted to tell you a bit of a story,” Stewart – a noted dog lover – began. “About 12, maybe 13 years ago my kids wanted to raise a little money for an animal shelter down in New York City. Animal Haven is the name of it, they do incredible work. It’s a no-kill shelter for cats and dogs. So they were six, seven years old so we baked a couple of cupcakes and rolled on down to Animal Haven and set up a little table right outside and put the cupcakes out, and as a little extra incentive they brought out this little one-ish year old Brindle Pitbull.”
At this moment, Stewart stopped in his tracks and exclaimed, “F—k!” The audience laughed, but he didn’t. He brought out a box of tissues, then put it back. “I thought I’d get further.”
The returning “Daily Show” host and executive producer then delivered the rest of the segment in a cracked voice, literally choking back tears.
“[He] had been hit by a car in Brooklyn and lost his right leg. They put the dog in my lap and we left that day feeling really good,” he continued. “We’d helped this great organization and we also left with this one-ish year old Brindle Pitbull. We called him Dipper, and in a world of good boys he was the best.”
Stewart continued, noting how Dipper would come to the “Daily Show” taping each day and wait for him to finish.
“He used to come to ‘The Daily Show’ every day. He was part of the OG ‘Daily Show’ dog crew,” Stewart said, as fans of the show recall that almost every behind-the-scenes picture or video from Stewart’s tenure includes a gaggle of Good Dogs hanging around. “We’d come and tape the show and Dipper would wait for me to be done. He met actors and authors and presidents and kings. He did what the Taliban could not do, which is put a scare into Malala Yousafzai.”
Stewart then explained that Dipper died on Sunday.
“Dipper passed away yesterday,” he said, barely holding it together. “He was ready. He was tired. But I wasn’t. And the family, we were all together thank goodness. We were all with him. But boy, my wish for you is one day you find that dog, that one dog that just is the best.”
The host then threw to the day’s Moment of Zen, which was footage of Dipper playing in the snow.
Now go hug your dog.
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