This Is Us star Mandy Moore and her husband, musician Taylor Goldsmith, are preparing to welcome their first child. But, as the actor shared on her Instagram on Tuesday, they're also coping with a shocking loss. Mandy Moore's dog Joni passed away suddenly on Monday, leaving the Emmy-nominated star with "a deep chasm of emptiness that will never be filled," as she described it.
Joni, named after singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, was 13, and had recently had surgery to remove a mass from her liver. But Moore said that her pup had, at first, seemed to be "recovering really well." In her tribute post, the actor recalled finding and adopting her dog in 2008 from a rescue in San Diego. "I’ll never forget the drive home, telling her that it was just us against the world now," she wrote.
"My heart is utterly shattered," Moore continued. "She was my first love and best friend. Through every twist and turn of life of this past decade and change, she was right there. There’s a deep chasm of emptiness that will never be filled but I am so grateful for her sweet nature and the endless connection, compassion, responsibility, patience and devotion that the love of a pet can bring into your orbit."
Moore and Goldsmith wed in 2018, and in September of this year, she announced that they were expecting a baby boy.
"I’m so sad she won’t get the chance to meet her human brother soon," Moore wrote of Joni, "but maybe she wasn’t ready to share 😉."
Keep reading for more loving celebrity tributes to departed BFFs, and for four-legged friends who are killing it on social media, check out These Celebrity Pets Have Way More Followers Than You.
1 | Reese Witherspoon
Instagram/ReeseWitherspoonReese Witherspoon's adorable French bulldog Pepper sadly passed away in October.
"My goodness, she was such a loyal and devoted family member," the actor wrote on Instagram. "I am so heart broken, but I am also deeply grateful for all the love and comfort she brought our family. Now she’s in dog heaven where all great pets go. Chasing tennis balls, running through open fields of wild flowers and being the Queen that she is. That’s what I believe."
To ease the pain, Witherspoon quickly welcomed a new furry family member. In early November, she shared a snap of her new puppy, Minnie Pearl—another French bulldog, just much tinier.
And for the mistake you've been making when you celebrate your pup's birthday, check out You've Been Calculating Your Dog's Age Wrong, New Study Says.
2 | Miranda Lambert
Instagram/mirandalambertCountry star Miranda Lambert said goodbye to her dog Waylon, who she rescued from the side of a road when he was a puppy, along with his sister Jessi.
"I was listening to Jessi Colter and Waylon Jennings at the time me and mom saw them and pulled over to pick them up," Lambert wrote of her rescue dogs. "I took them straight to the vet and she told me that the little boy was not doing too well (malnourished and dehydrated) because whatever they had found to eat while they were homeless, he always let [Jessi] eat first. He did that nearly his whole life."
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3 | Kaley Cuoco
Instagram/mrtankcookThe Big Bang Theory's Kaley Cuoco and her husband Karl Cook have adopted several rescue animals since they've been together, and they lost one of their dogs, Petunia (left), last week. This, only a few months after their dwarf pony, Fiona, passed away.
"We were so honored to love her in her final days," Cuoco wrote on her Instagram story, per People. "We love you dear special Petunia. You are the reason we continue to save dogs just like you. And we will never stop."
If you're also considering taking in an older pet, check out these 30 Photos That Show Why Senior Dogs Are the Best.
4 | Prince William and Kate Middleton
Kesington Royal/InstagramIn November, Prince William and Kate Middleton shared that their dog of nearly a decade, Lupo, had crossed the rainbow bridge.
"He has been at the heart of our family for the past nine years and we will miss him so much," reads a statement on the Kensington Royal Instagram, accompanying a stately picture of their late pet.
For some adoption inspiration, here are The 50 Most Popular Dog Breeds in America.
