“I was just so pleased he was ours, even if I’m sobbing.” And I’m overjoyed that we were his.”
This week, ESPN sportscaster Scott Van Pelt deviated from his typical programming on his show, One Big Thing, to cover a topic important to his heart: his family’s beloved dog, Otis.
Unfortunately, the beloved puppy died lately. And Van Pelt chose to dedicate an emotional piece to him to show the world what a terrific dog Otis was and how much he meant to him and his family.
Van Pelt tells how Otis would always come racing to greet him when he got home from work at night, and how it provided him solace to see the dog’s wagging tail and feel his cheery, loving presence. And how, now that Otis is gone, that is the one thing he will miss the most.
“After tonight’s concert, I’d rather go all the way from D.C. to the Pacific Ocean than take a short journey home and sit in the dark waiting for my Otie boy,” Van Pelt added.
Here’s the whole thing:
Though the heartfelt homage was devoted to Otis, Van Pelt touched on universal truths that anybody who has ever loved a dog may relate to. And possibly none more so than what Van Pelt said:
“There is nothing we could do to earn what our pets offer us for free.”
Otis may be gone, but his spirit will live on in more hearts than just his family’s due to Van Pelt’s moving words of homage shared with the world.