I Am Very Upset About Gus Kenworthy's Dead Dog

Back in February, Olympian skier Gus Kenworthy adopted a puppy named Beemo from a dog meat farm just outside of Seoul. Beemo went back to the States to live with Kenworthy and boyfriend Matt Wilkas, but her heart was literally too big, and she died last week. I am devastated.

Kenworthy announced Beemo’s death in an Instagram post on Sunday, according to People. “Two days ago my beautiful baby Beemo passed away. It was completely unexpected and Matt and I are beside ourselves trying to cope with her loss,” Kenworthy wrote, going on to describe Beemo’s recent disinterest in food, subsequent vet trips, and the discovery that a birth defect had rendered her heart too large for her tiny puppy body, crushing her lungs and ultimately killing her.

“She was the kindest, most gentle soul I’ve ever known. She loved people. She loved birds and the snow. She loved me and Matt,” Kenworthy wrote. “But most of all she loved meeting other dogs. If any of you have pets up in doggy heaven please tell them to go find Bee because she could really use a good play date right now.”

Here’s the whole post, which you can read but I cannot, as my eyes are so blurred by tears I fear I may never see out of them again.

Kenworthy previously called the meat farm where he found Beemo “[o]ne of the saddest places I’ve ever been,” noting the dogs that lived there were chained up, cramped, physically abused, and left to freeze or swelter in winter and summer. When it came time for them to be slaughtered for food, Kenworthy said, dogs were electrocuted, often over a prolonged period. “Yes, there is an argument to be made that eating dogs is a part of Korean culture. And, while don’t personally agree with it, I do agree that it’s not my place to impose western ideals on the people here,” Kenworthy wrote in an Instagram post in February. “The way these animals are being treated, however, is completely inhumane and culture should never be a scapegoat for cruelty.”

So, briefly, Beemo was saved, and now Beemo is gone (Kenworthy’s two rescue dogs from Sochi, Jake and Mishka, are thankfully doing fine.) RIP, sweet doggy, may pet heaven be full of squeaky bones to chew and humans who never tire of playing catch.