There was heartbreak for Rob Rinder this week and ITV's Susanna Reid was there to support her friend and colleague as he fought back tears just moments into Monday, December 5, edition of Good Morning Britain. As the broadcasters began the show, the TV judge gave an emotional tribute to his dog, Rocco, as the personality shared news that the canine had died.
Rinder had already shared the news of his loss with his social media followers. Posting on both Instagram and Twitter he wrote: " My Rocco died suddenly yesterday. He blessed me with a lifetime of loyalty & limitless joy. I don’t speak about my private world normally. But wanted to share my profound sadness with anybody who has ever loved a dog. It is the deepest gift of unconditional love imaginable."
The broadcaster fronted today's edition of the ITV news programme with Susanna and again addressed his heartbreak. Expressing his support for GMB's 1 Million Minutes campaign to fight loneliness, Liverpool Echo reported that he added: "It's not just people. It's about needing to have an emotional connection and feeling a sense of mission and purpose.
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"In my case, it was the structure of my day. Like lots of people I wasn't a dog person and then this beautiful, snoring creature came into my life and gave me absolute loyalty and unconditional love. There's nothing like the profound delight of arriving home and this beautiful creature being completely full of limitless joy just to see you. No human being will gift you that.
"Anyone who is a dog owner who has ever experienced that sort of loss will understand. I never thought I'd be this person. There are many people out there who might roll their eyes and shrug their shoulders and know there are big issues in the world
"To have had the gift of loyalty of a loving dog and to have lost that dog or a pet is a challenging thing. Years ago I might have been a bit sceptical of, but thank you for a beautiful loving life and I loved him very, very much."
Rob and Susanna are close friends away from the screen, viewers may have seen them on Celebrity Gogglebox together. Susanna offered her support on the morning programme as Rob fought back tears during the tribute.
Viewers following the show on Twitter also sent messages of support to the judge. One wrote: "Just want to send Rob my condolences I've been there I lost my rescue dog benji 3 years ago I still miss he every day but have since adopted another rescue dog Bart he's always so happy to see me when I get in from work. Xx" Another added: "Such a heartfelt story about Rocco. So sorry for your loss." With a third saying: "Deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Roberts dog Rocco. My heartfelt condolences to him, as our pets are so special...Sleep well little Rocco."
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