UNITED STATES – Millions of fans around the world are mourning Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher but perhaps none more so than her dog, Gary.
The French bulldog is the therapy dog of Fisher, who had been open about having bipolar disorder.
They were inseparable, often appearing together at events including the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner this April and a screening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in December last year (2015).
A tweet from a Twitter account set up for the four-year-old dog showed the canine looking pensively out of a window, with the caption “I’ll still be waiting for you”.
It is unclear if the account is managed by a family member of Fisher’s or a fan.
The tweet, which has tugged at the heartstrings of fans and garnered more than 17,000 retweets and nearly 40,000 likes, was sent out at 4.20am on Wednesday, hours after the news of Fisher’s death broke.
I’ll still be waiting for you……. pic.twitter.com/ef461OcqKJ
— Carrie Fisher’s Dog (@Gary_TheDog) December 27, 2016
Apart from Twitter, Gary also has his own Instagram account, set up in 2015 and with a following of more than 81,700.
The American actress, best remembered as Princess Leia in George Lucas’ Star Wars films, died aged 60 on Tuesday (Dec 27).
She had been hospitalised after suffering a heart attack during a flight on Friday (Dec 23) from London to Los Angeles.
Gary was reportedly by Fisher’s side on the flight and was also seen with her daughter Billie Lourd at the hospital she was taken to.
Fisher said in 2013 in an interview: “Gary is like my heart. Gary is very devoted to me, and that calms me down. He’s anxious when he’s away from me.”
Another tweet by @Gary_TheDog at 8am on Wednesday shows the dog with Fisher in a collage of three photos, with the caption: “I was always by your side but best of all you were always by mine.”
This article was first published on Dec 28, 2016.
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