Dog Twitter news: Ovie the Bulldog goes OTRB at 12 years old

In very sad news from Dog Twitter, Ovie The Bulldog has gone over the rainbow bridge from a heart problem that he had been battling for several years.

One of the earliest Dogs of Twitter, he was one of the most well-known hockey dogs on social media. He was 12 years old, or roughly 75 years old in dog years.

This news was announced on Ovie’s Twitter page on Sunday evening, December 26, though he passed away on the morning of Friday, December 24.

“Thank you for all the love and kindness the last 12 years. The games, meeting everyone, road trips, charity drives. I lived a life full of love and adventure. Thank you!”

Ovie the Bulldog went over the rainbow bridge over the weekend.

Ovie was born in October 2009 and granted his dad Mike’s lifelong dream to have an English Bulldog of his own, though there was a steep price – he had to give up his Washington Capitals season tickets in order to get mom Kris to agree to a puppy in the house.

Ovie the Bulldog went on to become a therapy dog in the southern Maryland and northern Virginia area, briefly was a model for a line of dog treats, and met a variety of Caps fans, staff and players, including Tom Wilson and namesake Alexander Ovechkin.

Once his family moved to the San Diego area, Ovie gained a sisfur in Saffy Bean Bulldog, and his goodwill efforts extended throughout Southern California and Nevada, as he discovered that he enjoyed paddleboarding in the Pacific Ocean.

During the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals between Washington and the expansion Vegas Golden Knights, Ovie and VGK superfan Bark-Andre Furry met on Twitter for the first time, and a fast friendship was formed, as they together launched the Pawkey Dogs website, supporting various charitable causes, both human and canine.

Ovie was a huge fan of naps and cookies, and he also enjoyed watching baseball, the Puppy Bowl and Formula One racing on TV.

Here at Dog O’Day, Ovie was not only a loyal reader of our content, but also a friend of the site, even taking part in the first two seasons of our fantasy football league. We will miss him greatly, and send all the hugs and pawrayers to his family.

“I’ll cherish our times together. Run free. I love you,” Bark wrote in the comments, while their pal Stoney just commented “stick taps,” a hockey gesture showing respect. Rookie the Batdog expressed his hope that Ovie would be running around with other angel sports dogs, and Tom Wilson said that “He’ll be missed by Caps Nation.”

Other Dog Twitter names sharing their condolences included PeytonReads, Enzo and Johnny the cats, the Golden Ratio, the Butler Bulldogs’ mascot Blue, and a ton of human friends from Hockey Twitter.

The official NHL website and the Washington Post were some of the major news outlets who reported on Ovie the Bulldog’s passing.

At this time, it is unclear whether Ovie’s accounts will remain active in the future, but a fair amount of Dog Twitter members continue tweeting as angel dogs (for example, Sugar the Rat Terrier and Zenith the Hound still do this.)

For more Washington Capitals news, opinions and more, see our FanSided Network sister site Stars and Sticks for all the latest.