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Kate Gosselin experienced an unexpected and tragic death in the family just days before Christmas.
“We suffered an unimaginable loss on Friday night,” Gosselin, 50, wrote over a photo of her eldest German Shepard, Nanuq, via Instagram on Thursday, December 25, revealing that her four-legged friend died on December 19.
“My soul girl, the rest of me, passed away quickly in the car on our way home for Christmas,” she added. “I am taking a break from TikTok because l am hurting so deeply. But I know you guys loved her too, so I needed to let you know.”
Sharing another photo, Gosselin continued, “I will spend the rest of my life missing you NuNu. Life will never be the same. I loved you more than life itself. I’m so sorry I couldn’t save you.”
In the caption, the Jon & Kate Plus 8 alum added, “I have no words. One minute, she was here and healthy. The next, she was gone. Her last gift to me was when she got into the truck to leave, she poked her head forward to where I was sitting in the passenger seat and licked my left cheek, twice.”
Gosselin noted that she is “trying to replace the traumatic memories and things I can never unsee with that memory.”
“My sweet girl kissing me, saying ‘thank you for taking me on a long bye bye,’ which was her favorite thing in the world,” Gosselin concluded. “Then, a little over 3 hours later, she was gone. I will never understand it. When I can, I’ll talk about details. For now, I cannot.”
In addition to the tribute, Gosselin took to TikTok to share how she spent Christmas with her other dog, Meika.
“Despite missing Nuq, we had to make this day special for Meika’s first Christmas,” she wrote over a photo of the German Shepard pup sitting by a Christmas tree surrounded by presents.
“She had a great day and got tons of presents from everyone. She is helping to heal the kids’ hearts,” Gosselin added over another snap. (The former reality TV star shares twins Mady and Cara, 25, and sextuplets Aaden, Alexis, Collin, Joel, Leah and Hannah, 21, with ex-husband Jon Gosselin.)
“It was a very difficult day, filled with LOTS of tears,” Kate wrote in the caption. “I just miss my girl SO much. It’s like a part of me is missing. However, we pulled it together so Meika would have a fun toy-filled first Christmas. Her loving self is helping to heal hearts around here. And I’m thankful for that. She is also missing Nuq and has times of sadness but her human brothers and sister are helping her with that too.”
The loss comes after a particularly challenging year for Kate, as she was hospitalized in September for a “life-altering injury” she sustained after Meika accidentally ran into her leg during a game of fetch. Kate fractured her tibial plateau, requiring surgery, followed by 82 days of rest and rehabilitation.
Kate reached a major milestone in her healing journey on December 20.
“It’s walking day!” she said in a TikTok video. “I’m on my way to my appointment now. It’s the day that I can walk, it finally came. I’m so excited I can’t even stand it.”
Kate later added, “I have to start at 25 percent, then 50 percent, then 75 percent, 100 percent. So you won’t see me really walking immediately, but I’m excited.”
In the comments section of her latest TikTok post, a fan pointed out that Nunuq “waited until you were able to walk again before she left you. She wanted to see you healed ❤️.”
Kate replied, “I thought of this. It’s so precious and heartbreaking.”
