Sarah Michelle Gellar Encourages Fans to Support Animal Charities in Shannen Doherty's Memory
Beloved actress and renowned dog-lover, Shannen Doherty, tragically passed away on July 13 after battling cancer. Doherty’s close friend of 30 years, Sarah Michelle Gellar, shared a heartfelt tribute honoring Doherty’s memory on Instagram, as reported by E! News.
In the caption of the beautiful post, Gellar reminded fans that Doherty was an animal rights advocate. She encouraged her social media followers to follow in the late actress’ footsteps and help furry friends in need.
“More than anything, Shan loves animals, especially dogs. In her memory let’s support our favorite animal charities. Whether that’s donating money , stopping by your local shelter and just offering cuddles and walks to animals housed there or even just tagging them in the comments so other people can learn about their work. I know that would make our girl happy (and illicit that deep throaty laugh we all loved) 💔 💔💔,” read a portion of the post.
Photo by Madeline Bowen on Unsplash
As Gellar mentioned, Doherty managed to be an advocate for abused, neglected, and injured dogs despite her illness. For instance, in 2017, Doherty hosted the Animal Hope and Wellness Foundation's 1st annual Gratitude Gala. This event assisted the efforts to prevent dogs from being sold for meat in South Korea. She also continually shared posts on Instagram, detailing adoption information from Nonprofit organizations like Castaic Shelter Animals, Coastal German Shepherd Rescue, The Animal Rescue Mission, and Urgent Dogs of Miami.
In addition, she was a proud dog mom to an adorable German Shepherd, Bowie. The precious pup was right by Doherty’s side, since her initial diagnosis nine years ago. In an August 2016 interview with Entertainment Tonight, the actress revealed that she believes Bowie knew she had cancer before it was even detected by doctors.
"She would obsessively sniff right here on my right side for a long time before. So, it made sense when I got diagnosed,” said the “Charmed” star.
Photo by Daniel Salgado on Unsplash
Shannen went on to say that after her first surgery Bowie, named after the late singer David Bowie, became somewhat of her guardian.
"When I got back from surgery, [Bowie] again was kind of right in this area. Then when I had my first chemo, she would sniff my entire body up and down. And she was always protective before, but she has become this crazy, protective dog. It's hard to get close to me when she's around,” noted the dog lover.
Doherty later raved about her precious pup in a 2017 interview with E! News, stating, “My baby, she cuddles with me, she knows when I'm sick, she knows when I'm depressed. She knows everything."
Photo by Ivan Kuznetsov on Unsplash
Rest in peace, Shannen. We’ll be sure to take Sarah’s advice when honoring your memory.