Kerry Kennedy revealed her dog was killed in a ‘terrifying and violent’ attack hours after her mother Ethel Kennedy died.
In a post shared on October 24, Kerry Kennedy explained how her dog named Bellini was attacked and killed by a neighborhood dog near her home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. She wrote that her daughter, Michaela Kennedy-Cuomo, was with her when the incident occurred on Oct. 10, just “a few hours” after her mother died from complications related to a stroke.
“Out of nowhere, a neighborhood dog attacked Bellini, attacked him and killed him. It was terrifying and violent beyond words,” wrote Kerry Kennedy.
She said the “only feeling” she could make of it was that her mother wanted a “companion for her journey.”
A few hours after my mother passed away, I returned to Hyannis Port, where Michaela and I took Bellini for a walk on the beach. Out of nowhere, a neighborhood dog attacked Bellini, attacking him and killing him. It was terrifying and violent beyond words. The only idea I can make of it is… pic.twitter.com/XsbFxMpPy2
— Kerry Kennedy (@KerryKennedyRFK) October 24, 2024
“She received the very best in Bellini,” continued Kerry Kennedy.
Kerry Kennedy, one of Ethel and Robert F. Kennedy’s eleven children, explained that the neighborhood dog’s owner was “undone” by the attack, expressed his horror and offered to help her.
“He called me yesterday to say he had sent away his beloved dog, and we were both on the phone together because we had lost our pets,” she wrote.
Kerry Kennedy said she took time to reflect on her feelings about the tragedy.
“As I look back on the event, I am heartbroken to have lost my beautiful companion, and I am also grateful that I have a neighbor who was kind to me in the aftermath and who, instead of the easy attitude of defensiveness, denied and to accept guilt, made the difficult decision for the greater good,” continued Kerry Kennedy “I feel sad, but I also know that I am blessed.”
On October 16, Kennedy-Cuomo posted a tribute to both her grandmother Ethel and their family dog Bellini, mentioning the “welcome home party strobe lights” in reference to the Northern Lights visible in the US on October 10.
“I wish the wind had not taken Grandma and Bellini back to heaven on 10/10, but was grateful and happy for the lives they lead and that the miracle of their welcome home party shone the strobe lights on their home, Hyannis Port that evening ,” Kennedy-Cuomo wrote.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
