George H.W. Bush’s faithful service dog, Sully, just had a busy and eventful week. Aside from getting a smooch from football defensive end JJ Watt, the canine went to the unveiling of his statue doppelgänger in the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum – all in 48 hours.
After George H.W. Bush’s passing in November 2018 at the age of 94, his service dog Sully caught the eye of the public when a heartbreaking photo of him lying by the former president’s flag-draped coffin was posted on Instagram.
Sully was assigned to Bush in June 2018, two months after his wife, former First Lady Susan Bush, died in April at the age of 92. The Labrador retriever came from and was trained by America’s VetDogs.
After his service with the Bush family, Sully went on to help others as a hospital corpsman second class and facility dog at Walter Reed National Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. His role involved comforting injured veterans and their families and assisting with rehabilitation sessions.
On Sunday, Sully went to the NRG Stadium to watch the game between the Houston Texans and New England Patriots. He was also there while the Texans were warming up and caught the eye of JJ Watt, the defensive end of the team. He came over to see Sully and gave him a big smooch which the pup gladly returned!
The 30-year-old athlete confirmed last month that he suffered a chest injury during his team’s match with the Oakland Raiders. JJ Watt had a torn pectoral muscle and went through surgery to repair the damage, with recovery taking about four months.
At the game, Sully also introduced another America’s VetDogs service dog to his new owner. Escorted by Pierce Bush, George H. W. Bush’s grandson, Sully presented Chestnut the black Lab to Army veteran Lukas More during the two-minute time out in the game’s second quarter.
The next day, Sully was in for another busy day. He visited the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum in College Station, Texas, for the unveiling of his own statue at a private event. Sully seemed to appreciate the tribute, sniffing his doppelgänger while wagging his tail.
America’s VetDogs commissioned Susan Bahary, a renowned sculptor, to create a life-sized bronze statue of the loyal Labrador. The figure, which took three months to make, stands over 30 inches high and is over 60 pounds heavy. It is located in the east wing of the library and will remain there as a permanent exhibit. The statue’s public unveiling will be held on December 6.
From being the loyal friend of a former president to receiving a tribute in the form of a statue, Sully has certainly had a colorful life and will surely achieve more in the years to come!