Former President George H.W. Bush’s Service Dog Sully Lies Next to His Casket in Heartbreaking Photo

President George H.W. Bush spent his final months with service dog Sully by his side, and Sully has remained there, even after his death.

Bush’s spokesman, Jim McGrath, shared a photo of Sully sitting on the floor in front of the late president’s casket. “Mission accomplished,” McGrath added.

The same photo was posted on Sully’s Instagram page, which was created after Sully began helping Bush.

McGrath also shared a photo of Air Force One after it arrived in Houston for “Special Air Mission 41” to take the former president to Washington, D.C.

Two months after former First Lady Barbara Bush died in April at age 92, Sully joined the Bush family to help the former president, who was confined to a wheel chair. According to CNN, Sully helped Bush with everything from fetching items to answering the phone.

“As one person said, he can do just about anything except make you a martini, but not to worry, he can go get you someone to make you a martini,” McGrath told CNN in June.

“A great joy to welcome home the newest member of our family, ‘Sully,’ a beautiful — and beautifully trained — lab from [America’s Vet Dogs],” Bush’s office tweeted, alongside a photo of Bush and former President Bill Clinton with Sully. “Could not be more grateful, especially for their commitment to our veterans.”

Sully is a yellow Labrador trained by the Guide Dog Foundation and America’s Vet Dogs, which provides service dogs to veterans, first responders and active-duty service members with disabilities. He is named after retired airline pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger III, who famously landed a passenger jet on the Hudson Ruber in 2009, saving all 155 people on board.

Sully also joined Bush for the last time he was seen in public. On Nov. 1, McGrath shared a picture of Bush’s best friend, former White House Chief of Staff and Secretary of State James Baker, and Sully helping Bush vote for the final time.

“The 41st President accompanied by his two best friends — Jim Baker and Sully — discharging his civic duty and voting today,” McGrath wrote.

Bush died Friday night at age 94, eight months after Barbara Bush’s death. Memorial services will begin in Washington Monday at 4:45 p.m. ET, when his casket arrives at the U.S. Capitol. The former president will lie in state until Wednesday morning, giving the public an opportunity to pay their respects. The memorial at the National Cathedral will begin Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET.

After the memorial services in Washington, Bush will be flown back to Houston to be buried alongside Barbara Bush and their daughter, Robin Bush, at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas.

President Donald Trump also declared Wednesday a national day of mourning, with federal agencies closing out of respect for Bush.

Photo credit: Rick Friedman/Corbis via Getty Images