Tom Hardy pens emotional tribute to "bestest friend ever" after his dog Woody passes away

Dogs have long been referred to as man’s best friend, but never has the phrase been more true than in the case of Tom Hardy and his rather lovely Labrador, Woody. 

The acclaimed actor had his now equally famous pal at his side during his recent CBeebies performance. 

And there was that time he brought him along to the Legend premiere, as if that was just a thing that Hollywood stars do (it definitely should be).

Yep, these boys were tight alright.

We are, then, extremely sad to learn that Woody has passed away. In a lengthy and – seriously, have a few tissues handy – emotional tribute posted to his Tumblr page, Hardy explained that Woodstock, who he first found as an 11-week-old stray, had lost a brief battle with ‘an aggressive polymyostisis’. 

He writes in detail about how they forged such a strong bond, as well of the origins of the golden pooch’s name. “His nickname was Yamaduki,” said The Dark Knight Rises star. “Because he literally yammed down a duki. So Woodstock Yamaduki was his full name. Woody Thomas later Woody two shoes and Wu for short.”

In the heartfelt post, Hardy calls Woody his ‘bestest friend ever’, ‘an angel’, a ‘special bro’ and ‘a shining example of man’s best friend’, explaining that he doesn’t ordinarily disclose personal information about friends and family but, knowing his dog’s massive fanbase, felt that on this occasion it was appropriate. 

“He has been on many sets,” he goes on. “Met many crews. Photo shoots premieres made many many friends he was #73 most influential animal in TIME magazine. He beat JAWS. Something we all thought was brilliant. He’s been in peaky blinders. Legend everyone who met him loved him. He didn’t have a bad bone in his body. All he knew was love.”

You can read the full letter below, but just prepare yourself accordingly for a big old cry.

RIP Woody. 

(Image: BBC)