Former NFL player Tim Tebow is mourning the loss of Bronco, his beloved dog whom he had to put to sleep this past Wednesday night.
The 32-year-old posted a video to his Instagram, bidding farewell to Bronco, and breaking down crying as he fed him a final snack.
In his tribute, Tebow included many photos that documented the years they spent together – going all the way back to 2010 when he first got Bronco has a puppy.
He captioned his post as “One of the toughest goodbyes. Wanted to make a special tribute to the sweetest boy ever — thank you for all the joy you brought and all the memories.”
Tebow then added, “Aunt Patty, thank you for loving him, and thank you to all the other people including Miss Shea and Miss Mindy for sharing so much love with Bronco. If you had the pleasure of meeting Bronco, one of the best dogs ever, I would love to hear your story.”
Included in the post were several special acknowledgments that Tebow extended to Bronco’s caretakers with “SEVO-Med, Blue Pearl Vet and UF Small Animal Vet Hospital” whom he thanked for “taking care of him every time he was sick.”
Back in a 2018 AOL.com interview, Tebow talked about Bronco being a “stud” Rhodesian Ridgeback who was gifted to him in celebration of his 2010 selection as the 25th pick by the Denver Broncos.
“It made sense when I just got drafted by the Broncos,” he said regarding his choice for Bronco’s name. “We’ve always liked the name, we always liked that truck, so we talked about it and we were like, yeah, that’s really cool.”
Tebow, who is the current baseball player for the Syracuse Mets, posted his Bronco tribute to his Twitter as well, where he included another video of him sitting beside Bronco’s side at the vet, as Bronco was breathing heavily.
Last year, Tebow told AOL, “For so many people, [dogs] are our best friends and they provide so much joy and love.”
Tim Tebow, we feel your loss. Stay strong. And rest in peace sweet Bronco!
