Odin, the dog who played Bran Stark’s pet direwolf Summer on Game of Thrones, has died after a four-month-long battle with cancer. The dog’s family has been updating fans on social media throughout his medical crisis. On Thursday, they announced that the beloved dog had passed away.
Odin the dog became part of famous pack of wolves when he joined the cast of Game of Thrones in the pilot episode. He played Summer, the direwolf pup adopted by Bran Stark — played by Isaac Hempstead Wright. In real life, however, Odin was an Inuit Timbers Dog living in in a town called Ardglass in Northern Ireland. On Thursday, Odin’s family announced that the 10-year-old dog had succumbed to cancer and passed away.
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Sad news from @GoT_direwolves: Odin, one of the early #GameOfThrones direwolves, has passed away. He’ll be much missed: https://t.co/tezQaULr7G pic.twitter.com/nwcD1vt3tx
— Elio & Linda (@westerosorg) March 26, 2020
“Our family are at immense heartbreak to announce that Odin passed away early this morning. It’s difficult to put into words how this has impacted us as a family for Odin lead a life like no other dog,” the family wrote on Facebook.
The family went on to say that “Odin was a family member first,” and “everything after that was a bonus.” After the dog had trained with experts and appeared on TV, he returned to being a faithful family pet. Now that he is gone, the family said that they are just grateful to have the TV show to turn to.
“We can all take great comfort in knowing that he is forever immortalised in the great TV Show Game of Thrones as Summer Bran Starks Direwolf Pup in Season 1 episode 1,” they wrote.
Odin is survived by his brother, another Inuit Timbers Dog named Thor. In Game of Thrones, Thor played Grey Wind, the direwolf adopted by Robb Stark.
Sad news for my fellow Game of Thrones fans: Odin, the dog who played Bran’s Direwolf Summer, died today. I got to meet Odin on a GOT tour in N Ireland last year. He was a very sweet dog and let me pet him even though he was a famous TV star. We’ll miss you Odin!🐺 #gameofthrones pic.twitter.com/9rc3uGvQDP
— Byron (@TotallyEffnLost) March 26, 2020
After their times on the show were over, the two dogs retired to Northern Ireland with their family. However, they continued to participate in the Game of Thrones fandom, frequently appearing in the tours of the Game of Thrones sets and filming locations in the country.
Visitors on the tours could travel with Odin and Thor around sets like Winterfell, The Twins, the Haunted Forest and Robb Stark’s war camp. Many fans posted their own memories of petting the “direwolves” while up in Northern Ireland.
Odin’s family has been taking donations to help pay for his cancer treatments since November, when he was first diagnosed. In Thursday’s post, they thanked fans for all their help and support through this tragic time.
“We are incredibly grateful for the donations made towards Odin treatment and we will use what is needed to pay his vet bill and we will donate the rest between our favourite dog charities the donations will help further dogs in need at this tough time,” they wrote.
