Patrick Stewart Mourns Death of Foster Dog Days After It Was Saved From High-Kill Shelter

Sir Patrick Stewart and his wife, Sunny Ozell, are mourning the death of their dog Leonard, less than a week after bringing the foster dog home. The 10-year-old dog was put down on Wednesday. The couple brought him to a veterinarian Monday for what was thought to be “kennel cough,” but turned out to be pneumonia.

“It breaks my heart to have to share this news — we eased our sweet boy Lenny over the Rainbow Bridge yesterday,” Ozell, 40, wrote on Instagram Thursday. “There’s a reason folks use this euphemism…I didn’t ‘put him down.’ I lifted him up out of his pain, I let him go, and I’ll hold his sweet spirit in my heart. The angels at [Wags and Walks Rescue] had only *just rescued Lenny from a high kill shelter about 8 days ago, and after having Lenny in our home for only 48hrs, Monday morning came and what everyone thought was just kennel cough was clearly something more serious.”

Ozell said she rushed Lenny to a veterinarian on Monday, who did not think he needed to be hospitalized.

However, she insisted he be admitted, since he stopped eating and drinking. On Tuesday, Lenny was diagnosed with pneumonia and his condition continued to get worse. Nothing doctors did would help him recover.

“If Lenny had lived the life he deserved, he may have been strong enough to endure pneumonia. But at ten years old, after a life of neglect, his body didn’t have the resources to fight,” Ozell wrote. “Covered in thick callouses, and repeat fly strikes on his mutilated ears, it was clear Lenny had lived outside, probably on concrete…which would explain why he was so clearly delighted by anything soft.”

On Sunday, Stewart, 78, shared a photo of himself and Ozell with Lenny after they took him home. Stewart said the couple understood Lenny lived a life “full of neglect.”

“To be able to give this handsome fellow a soft bed, and all the cuddles and kisses he asks for…well, it’s just such a privilege,” the Star Trek: Picard star wrote. “Thank you as always to [Wags and Walks Rescue] for bringing another angel into our lives.”

Unfortunately, on Wednesday, Ozell told her Instagram followers that Lenny was admitted to a hospital. She hoped he would “be back lounging on our couch as soon as he’s ready.”

Stewart and Ozell fostered Lenny from Wags and Walks Rescue, a rescue shelter in Los Angeles. The couple have previously fostered dogs from the shelter and Stewart attended their annual gala last year, notes PEOPLE.

Stewart is now working on Star Trek: Picard, a long-awaited follow-up series to Star Trek: The Next Generation. CBS announced this week that Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon was named showrunner for the series, which will only be available on CBS All Access.

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