Washington State University’s beloved honorary mascot Dash Dog died Monday night and the outreach of comments remembering him is flooding in.
Ande Edlund, Dash’s owner, posted on Instagram announcing his passing Tuesday afternoon.
“Dash had the biggest heart… & my heart is broken. He was a total daddy’s boy & my best friend. We devoted to each other for 13 amazing years. It was an honor to be his protector & caretaker,” Edlund said in the post.
Around 2,500 people commented on the post, those from the Pullman community and beyond the Washington area.
People and organizations like Butch T. Cougar, WSU Pullman, the Seattle Mariners and Rainer Beer commented.
“We are so sorry to hear about the passing of Dash. He was the goodest boy and brought joy to so many people. We will miss having him out at our Bark at the Park games,” the Seattle Mariners said.
Even WSU’s rival schoolUniversity of Washington’s mascot Harry The Huskie commented on the post.
“While we may not have agreed on the team we root for, all dogs go to heaven. Rest in peace, pal. I hope they have all the hot dogs you could ever ask for,” he said.
While Edlund said it is okay to be sad he invited people on Wednesday to celebrate Dash’s memory on a day now called #DashDay. The day would consist of celebrating his life and spirit and what he means to people.
“I’ll go first. Dash loved grass. Whether running, rolling or laying on it, he was always happy on grass. Seeing his joy makes me smile…even today,” Edlund said.
Darrel The Doge and their owner Hailey Adair said on the post that they were crying many tears of sadness and happiness remembering Dash.
“He put up a good fight and continues to being so much joy to people all over the world,” they said.
Dash had his second tumor removed in mid-April and had been on chemotherapy treatments since the surgery, Edlund said. Dash’s family created a GoFundMe account to help cover medical costs.
The account raised enough money to cover Dash’s surgery’s within the first 12 hours, and before his death the GoFundMe was at around $14,000, he said.
So far, the GoFundMe account has raised almost $5,000 since his death and the proceeds will be donated to the 15/10 Foundation, an organization that helps to cover medical expenses that some shelter animals face and create a platform to make animals more adoptable, Edlund said.
