Serena Williams' dog has died.
Serena Williams announces death of dog Laurelai
The 40-year-old tennis ace took to social media on Saturday (27.08.22) to reveal that her beloved Maltese pooch Lauerlei had passed away at the age of 18 but is still "happy" that she got to spend so much "extra time" with her.
Alongside a slideshow of images, she wrote on Instagram: "Lauerlei sadly took her last breath yesterday. I am sad but happy for all the time and all the extra I got to spend with her. She lived a long long life. The last year and a half was a bonus. "
The sports star went on to add that her canine companion "got everything she ever wanted" and was the "smallest yet toughest" pup but acknowledged that her passing signals the "end of an era."
Serena added: "She got to get anything she ever wanted and she was biting toes till the end. Literally. She LOVED chicken and acrobatics. She was the smallest yet toughest little pup and I will miss her… so much. [broken heart emoji] truly the end of an Era.
Lauerlei Linkogle Williams
May 2004 - Aug 27, 2022" (sic)
Lauerlei is survived by Serena's other pet dog Christopher Chip, who has an Instagram account of his own and Serena regularly keeps his 13.3k followers updated with his whereabouts.
The Yorshire Terrier was last seen on social media on Thursday (25.05.22), attending practices for the US Open with Serena - who was practicing with Maria Sakkari at the time - and the tennis legend could be seen scooping him up and putting him in her bag while she played.
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