Daily Show host Jon Stewart breaks down in tears announcing the death of his dog, Dipper

The words Daily Show and Jon Stewart usually mean laughter or incisive socio-political commentary. Today, they also mean tears of sadness.

The Comedy Central host could not contain his grief as he announced the death of his dog, Dipper.

Visibly upset, Stewart shared that Dipper died the day before.

“He was ready. He was tired, but I wasn’t. And the family, we were all together,” he said, through tears. “Thank goodness. We were all with him. But, boy, my wish for you is one day you find that dog, that one dog, that just is the best.

Speaking to the camera during the recording of the latest episode of the Daily Show, Stewart recalled the moment, about 12 years ago, when Dipper, the pit bull, unexpectedly came into his life.

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His children wanted to raise money for a New York City animal shelter so the family decided to set up a table outside the shelter to sell cupcakes as a fundraiser.

“As a little extra incentive, they brought out this one-ish-year-old brindle pit bull who got hit by a car in Brooklyn and lost his right leg,” Stewart recalled, his eyes filling with tears.

“It was the perfect idea. They put the dog in my lap. And we left that day feeling really good we’d helped this great organisation. And we also left with this one-ish-year-old brindle pit bull. We called him Dipper.”

“In a world of good boys, he was the best,” Stewart said, in tears.

The host spoke about how Dipper was a faithful companion and one of the “OG dogs of the Daily Show”, accompanying him to every recording.

“He met actors and authors and presidents and kings. And he did what the Taliban could not do, which is put a scare into Malala Yousafzai,” he joked, sharing a clip of the Pakistani activist trying to get away from Dipper backstage.

Yousafzai took to Twitter to send her condolences to Stewart, adding that she has since gotten over her fear of dogs.

Stewart closed the emotional segment with his traditional “Moment of Zen”, this time a clip of Dipper rolling around in the snow.

On Twitter (now called X), the host thanked everyone for the support and shared photos of the day Dipper joined the family.

People on social media paid tribute to Dipper and shared their own stories of heartbreaking at losing their dogs.

“Dang it Jon you made me cry! I lost my best boy almost two years ago now… still hurts like hell. Dogs are angels, here and in heaven,” Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn said.

“This brought back the pain of the passing of Penny, Clara, Frances and Ralph,” actor and writer Mark Hamill said. “You just have to hang on to the fact that the joy they brought you in life far outweighs the tragedy of losing them. (and curse the fact dogs don’t live as long as tortoises),” he added.

The clip of Stewart announcing Dipper’s death has been viewed more than 5 million times in just a few hours.

Stewart said all the photos of people’s dogs were giving him joy.

This article was first published by the NZ Herald and is republished here with permission.