Australians heartbroken after celebrity goat with 1.7m Facebook fans passes away
KEY POINTS
- Gary theGoat was euthanised following the discovery of a heart tumour.
- The news has been met with dismay across Australia.
A celebrity goat who won the hearts of the Australian public has died.
Gary the Goat formed part of a comedy double act and played to audiences across Australia with his Sydney-born owner Jim Dezarnaulds . The pair's unusual antics, which have earned millions of views on their YouTube channel, made Gary an unlikely social media star.
Jim Dezarnaulds announced the news to the dismay of Gary's 1.7 million Facebook followers.
"Gary died tonight aged six [on November 16 about 10:30pm] from euthanasia — after vets diagnosed a bleed from an acute heart tumour," Dezarnaulds wrote.
"The vets drained it once but when it came back 24 hours later we decided that Gary needed to go out peacefully and pain-free instead of being conscious while he couldn't breathe.
"We thought it was just bloat at first — but it's very hard to diagnose a goat who doesn't give a f**."
"We'll all miss you Gary. You gave so much happiness to so many people. Rest In Peace, mate."
Gary and his owner were undertaking a tour of Queensland when the news broke and were expected to play a show in Moranbah this Saturday.
Dezarnaulds, also known by his comedy stand-up name Jimbo Baboozi, first encountered Gary while doing a show in Gingin in 2011.
"I was doing this show for seven years and a guy offered me a goat for a case of beer one night in Gingin," Jimbo said. "Gary was just my best mate."
Condolences and messages of support have flooded in since late last night. The post has been shared some 34,000 times with 224,000 likes.
Jamie Hugo said on the post: We have lost an Australian icon over night people. Raise a glass this afternoon in honour of the greatest goat that ever lived.RIP Gary."
"Rip tp the maddest goat ever, I'm glad I got to meet jimbo and Gary, a year or two ago now and I'll never forget them."
"Many famous [people] have died this year but weirdly a goat is the only one that's upset me, rip Gary and sorry for your loss Jimbo. Xxx", another wrote.
In 2013 Dezarnaulds gained notoriety when he was fined A$440 for allowing the animal to eat plants in a flowerbed outside the Sydney Museum of Contemporary Arts. A court later dismissed the charge of destroying vegetation without authority.
