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College football analyst Kirk Herbstreit honored the life of his beloved dog, Ben, as part of the ESPN College GameDay broadcast on Saturday.
After Ben died earlier in the week at the age of 10, Herbstreit narrated a video that showed highlights of the adored golden retriever’s many appearances alongside him on College GameDay and in the announce booth:
Herbstreit expressed his love for Ben and his gratitude for all of the college football fans who embraced him in recent years as well.
The 55-year-old former Ohio State quarterback announced Thursday on social media that he and his family had to make the difficult decision to have Ben euthanized after cancer had spread throughout his body.
Ben became a social media sensation over the past couple of years, as he was seemingly always by Herbstreit’s side.
The friendly and charming canine could be seen frolicking on football fields prior to games or laying next to Herbstreit during episodes of College GameDay or while he was calling college football games for ABC/ESPN or NFL games for Amazon Prime Video.
Ben was regularly recognized by teams and even given press credentials in some cases. He was also named Chief Happiness Officer by the Rose Bowl.
An emotional Herbstreit introduced the video package with tears in his eyes during Saturday’s edition of College GameDay, and had the full support of his co-hosts.
Despite his enormous loss, Herbstreit called Thursday night’s NFL game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens, and he will be on the call for Saturday night’s game between Alabama and LSU as well.
First appeared on bleacherreport.com