A Final Journey Together: Retired Police Chief and Loyal Dog Depart this World, United in Love and Loyalty
When Daniel Hove was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, family and friends rallied to help the Air Force veteran-turned-assistant fire chief navigate this difficult time. But nobody was more supportive than Danielโs loyal dog, Gunner, an 11-year-old lab whoย rarely leftย his ownerโs side.
Photos of Danielโs final years show the loyal pooch snuggling beside his human bed in bed and curling up on his lap, despite being a 90-pound dog. No matter what happened, Gunner made sure he was never more than a few inches away.
โThey were best buddies till the end,โ Danielโs daughter, Heather Nicoletti, toldย Kare 11. โThey were hunting buddies, they went everywhere together.โ
So nobody was surprised, really, that when Daniel lay lying, his loyal dog suddenly fell ill, too.
โWhen my dad would get agitated, the dog would be agitated, my dad was restless, the dog was restless,โ his daughter said, remembering how her father and Gunner had always been in sync. โMy dad was unresponsive, the dog was unresponsive. So once we saw how the dog was doingโhe wasnโt moving much anymore, not doing wellโ we knew, it was coming.โ
One day, as the old dog grew increasingly listless and his arms started swelling, Heather knew it was time, sadly, to put Gunner down. โI called the vet clinic I used to work at,โ sheย said, โthey got me in right away and I rushed him up there, put him to sleep. And about an hour and a half later, my dad was gone too.โ
But as distraught as she was about losing her father โ a loving parent, loyal veteran, beloved community member, and a faithful mentor and friend to everyone he met โ Heather took comfort in the fact that that her dad, at least, never had to say goodbye to his beloved dog. Such a separation would have been equally harrowing for Gunner, who could never bear to be far away from his best human friend.
โI had said I donโt know whatโs going to be more traumatic for him,โ Heatherย said. โTo try to take him away to endโto put him to sleepโ to end his suffering, or if you let him live through dad dying. I think either way itโs going to kill him. We knew they were going to go together. We just didnโt know it was going to be hours apart.โ
โGunner could not be without my dad,โ Heatherย said. โI think he chose to go with him.โ