Just to give you a warning, this is Marley & Me level sadness that you are about to enter into.
The short version of the story for those that don’t feel like crying on a weeknight is simply this. Jon Stewart, who is returning to host The Daily Show every Monday during the election year, took a few minutes out of the program to talk about his “good boy” Dipper that recently passed away.
Of course Jon Stewart immediately conjures up some political feelings, but no matter what side of the aisle you fall on, this will nip at even the coldest of hearts.
For those that are brave enough to continue, I’ll get more in depth as we go on from here. For those who read that paragraph above and the water works already started going, I’ll firstly say that I’m sorry, and secondly state that I hope you keep reading anyways.
This video of Stewart goes to show how much of an impact animals can have in our lives. You’ve probably heard the phrase “Pets might just be in a small part of our lives, but to them, we are their whole life.” Hey, I tried to warn you that this was going to get emotional.
The longtime Daily Show host was clearly rattled by his recent loss, and fought back tears as he told the story of how he and his family adopted “Dipper.” He and his kids were helping out a no-kill animal shelter in New York, and were raising money outside of it by selling baked goods.
At one point, a one-year-old dog (that had been hit by a car and only had three legs) was brought out to where they were set up to help get people to stop at their table, and to make a long story short, he and his kids immediately fell in love with the animal.
Stewart only made it about a minute into the story before the tears started flowing and he slammed his fist down on the table, yelling an expletive out of anger because he couldn’t get through the story without becoming emotional.
He finally got back to a place where he could talk without crying, and somehow got through this:
“We left that day feeling really good that we had helped this great organization, and we also left with this one-ish-year-old brindle pit bull. We called him Dipper. In a world of good boys, he was the best. He used to come to the Daily Show everyday…
Dipper passed away yesterday. He was ready. He was tired. But I wasn’t. The family, we were all together, thank goodness, and we were all with him. My wish for you is one day you find that dog. That one dog that is just the best.”
Just an absolute gut punch, but Stewart is exactly right. Everyone deserves to have that one dog, or pet, in their lives that changes it for the better. The worst part about having a pet is that they don’t last forever, but the time they do give you is worth more than anything in the world.
As Jon Stewart so elegantly put it in his tribute to Dipper:
The video earned a lot of attention, and deservedly so:
