Greg Rutherford has shared his grief as he told Instagram followers that his dog Gus has sadly died.
The Olympian and former Dancing On Ice star revealed that he and his family were having a “tough time” earlier this week but didn’t explain what was wrong.
Now he’s apologised for his social media absence and said that he was offline spending Gus’ final days with him.
Greg Rutherford shares family heartache in Instagram post
Posting several pictures of his dog on social media, Greg shared: “I am utterly heartbroken. We’ve had a really tough week as a family finding out Gus had cancer. He sadly passed away last night and I just feel numb.
I’m longing to see his silly face or feel him rest his head on my feet or lap.
“Between the tears and pain of missing him so much, I’m longing to see his silly face or feel him rest his head on my feet or lap.”
Greg then added: “Gus has been such an important part of our lives. For me he’s been my training partner and best mate. Every steps session, every run, every bike ride and walk. He was always with me. I’d talk out my plans to him like he understood and be greeted by a happy paw or lick and was always happy.
“They’re never just pets, they’re everything good.”
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‘Two weeks ago everything seemed fine’
Posting on his stories, Greg explained that Gus’ illness came as a shock a couple of weeks ago.
He shared: “Give your pets an extra cuddle. You never know when you won’t be able to do it again. Two weeks ago everything seemed fine and normal, I was making plans to take Gus and the kids to the Lake District to camp over the summer holidays. Now he’s gone and I miss him so, so much.”
Gus’ death comes as Greg recovers from a horror injury on Dancing On Ice. He was forced to pull out of the series ahead of the show’s final after he “effectively gave himself a C-section”.
Greg posted: “Long story short, I leapt through the legs of Brendyn [Hatfield] and Colin [Grafton] and managed to tear all of my abs as well as herniate. So I effectively gave myself a C-section.”
Read more: Greg Rutherford ‘mopping up blood’ after young son’s accident
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