This weekend, Olympian Gus Kenworthy paid tribute to his rescue dog Beemo after she unexpectedly passed away.
“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,” he wrote Sunday on Instagram about the loss he, along with his boyfriend Matt Wilkas, incurred.
Kenworthy had recently rescued Beemo from a South Korea dog meat farm while at the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang. During their short time together, the bond ran deep for Kenworthy.
Related: Olympian Gus Kenworthy Saves Dogs Destined for the Meat Market
“I’ve never loved anything or anyone in the way that I loved that dog,” he wrote. “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. But most of all she loved meeting other dogs.”
He shared that Beemo had been recently acting odd.
“For a week or so we’d been worrying because she was showing less and less interest in her food. There were several trips to the vet and on our final visit this past Thursday I asked them do a full body scan in case there was an underlying issue they had missed,” Kenworthy wrote. “Beemo went into a panic attack during the x-rays and her breathing became rapid and shallow.”
Related: How Having a Dog Made These Famous People’s Lives Better
The scan revealed her lungs had deteriorated and her heart was too big for her body, a birth defect making it hard to breath.
“Unable to treat her there, I rushed her to the emergency vet where a breathing tube was put down her throa,” he recalled. “They hoped that with a respirator breathing for her they could get her vitals back to a normal level so she could be treated but they were never able to do so.”
He and Wilkas had to say goodbye.
Kenworthy had previously rescued two street dogs in Russia, Jake and Mishka, while he competed at the Sochi Olympics in 2014.
Related: Dogs Saved From South Korea’s Canine Meat Market Are Looking for Forever Homes
The Olympian finished his post with a heartfelt plea:
“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.
RIP sweet creature – your daddy loves you more than you could ever even know!”