The nation fell in love with Britain’s Got Talent winners Ashleigh and Pudsey and we were collectively devastated to hear of the death of the dog on Friday.
But now trainer and owner of the beloved pooch Ashleigh Butler has appeared on This Morning to remember her pet.
Read more: Britain’s Got Talent winner Pudsey has died
It was tough for Ashleigh as she struggled to control her emotions alongside summer hosts Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford.
Sobbing as she talked, Ashleigh explained “It was incredible. He gave me an opportunity I never thought I’d ever have.”
Pudsey had to be put down after he was diagnosed with leukaemia.
Ashleigh paid tribute to the Border Collie cross by posting cute pictures of him on Instagram.
She also revealed that it was “the hardest decision of my life to let my beautiful boy go”.
Telling Eamonn and Ruth what had happened to Pudsey, Ashleigh explained: “I was actually at a dog show with him last weekend and on Monday he wasn’t himself, he was sleeping a lot, so we took him to the vet on Tuesday.
“From the Tuesday to the Thursday he went downhill so quickly and the vet told us he had acute leukaemia and, on the Thursday, it got to the point where he couldn’t even lift his head.”
So sad.
The 22-year-old then went on to introduce her other dog Sullivan – or Sully as he’s known – who is going to fill in for Pudsey from now on, but Ashleigh insisted that contrary to reports she wasn’t going to rename him Pudsey.
As the dog sniffed around for the treats he could tell were in Ashleigh’s pocket, the now smiling trainer explained Sully and Pudsey were best friends and did everything together.
She added: “There was always going to be a point where Sully took over. I wanted Pudsey to have a retirement and enjoy that.”
The dog, who has one blue eye and one brown eye, was enjoying himself on the sofa and Ashley revealed:
“Sully is a show off like Pudsey, but he does some tricks Pudsey couldn’t do, so it’s very unique.
“He’ll never, ever replace Pudsey.”
But Ashleigh did explain that “carrying on what Pudsey started will help me.”
Fans were as upset as Ashleigh as they watched her sobbing on the sofa from home.
Read more: Britain’s Got Talent judges pay tribute to Pudsey
Ashleigh and Pudsey won ITV talent show Britain’s Got Talent in 2012 – the first dog-based act to achieve the feat.
Judge Simon Cowell described Pudsey as “one of the best dancing dogs I’ve ever seen”.
The pair even got to meet the Queen following their appearance at the Royal Variety Performance at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
Another of the BGT judges, David Walliams, led the tributes to Pudsey, tweeting: “Farewell to a very special dog that the nation fell in love with.”
And dancer George Sampson, who himself won the show in 2008, tweeted a picture of himself with the pooch, alongside the words: “RIP my little mate, you were and will always be a superstar.”
It looks like Sully has a big act to follow.