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Kirk Herbstreit Introduces New Dog To ‘College GameDay’ Crowd After Tragic Passing Of Golden Retriever Ben

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Saturday’s episode of ESPN College GameDay from Baton Rouge, Louisiana should have been one of the most exciting of the year.

The LSU Tigers welcome Alabama to Death Valley on Saturday night for what could be a College Football Playoff elimination game.

Instead, the episode had a somber feel to it after host Kirk Herbstreit had to put his beloved golden retriever Ben down during the week after a battle with cancer.

“This is really hard to write but so many of you have loved and cared about Ben that I wanted to let you know. We found out today the cancer had spread throughout Ben’s organs and there was nothing left we could do-we had to let him go,” Herbstreit shared Thursday on Twitter.

“I’ve had dogs my whole life but Ben was 1 on 1. He was smart-loving-gentle-patient-inquisitive-and welcoming to all. Always a big smile and a soft tail wag. He and I could communicate..he and I understood each other and had each others backs.

“He was with me more than anyone at home and traveling with me for work. Such an easy going companion. Hard day-but he will live within all of us forever. God please bless his majestic soul and thank you for putting him in my life for the last 10 years-a true blessing. Love you Ben.”

It was a heartbreaking loss not only for Herbstreit, but the entire College Gameday world. Ben had become a regular on the show the past two years, and he was honored with a touching video tribute.

What many fans may not know, or at least did not know until Saturday, is that the Herbstreit family owned four golden retrievers, including Ben.

On Saturday, the college football world got to me another member of the family, Peter, as he made his College GameDay debut.

Peter is the youngest of the Herbstreit golden retrievers. He’s just a year old. But he behaved himself well on set and fit right in. Hopefully, he becomes a fixture with Kirk on the road and gets all the incredible experiences Ben got to have.