Gene Hackman’s daughter has reportedly made a plan to bury the Oscar winner’s late dog alongside his wife, Betsy Arakawa.
Nearly one month after Hackman, Arakawa and one of their pet dogs died, new sheriff department footage obtained by TMZ revealed how the canine would be buried.
In the footage published on Friday, March 21, a law enforcement officer asked Hackman’s daughter Elizabeth if she was interested in cremating the pet’s ashes.
“I’m thinking, cremate the dog and bury it with Betsy,” Elizabeth said in the footage. “And if the dog was wearing a collar, can you save that for me?”
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The police officer agreed to save a collar for Elizabeth.
Arakawa, in particular, had a fondness for her pets ahead of her sudden death.
“She was devoted to those dogs,” Gruda Veterinary Hospital owner Robert Gruda told USA Today on March 11, remembering her visits to the facility. “She was consistent, predictable. We knew something was wrong when she didn’t pick up the food on time. She was an excellent dog owner [and an] excellent caretaker to those dogs. She really doted on them.”
News broke in late February that Hackman and Arakawa had been found dead inside their Santa Fe, New Mexico, house. They were 95 and 65, respectively.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy. He was loved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us, he was always just Dad and Grandpa,” Hackman’s daughters and granddaughter told Us Weekly in a statement. “We will miss him sorely and are devastated by the loss.”
Hackman and Arakawa are survived by his children, Christopher, Elizabeth and Leslie, whom the actor shared with late ex-wife Faye Maltese, and their granddaughter, Anna.
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A medical examiner later confirmed that Hackman died due to hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease with Alzheimer’s disease as a significant contributing factor. Arakawa, for her part, died as a result of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome.
Hackman and Arakawa owned three dogs: Zinna, Bear and Nikita. Zinna, an Australian kelpie, also passed away in February. A report from the local animal control agency obtained by the Associated Press noted that Zinna likely died from dehydration and starvation. (Police had found Zinna locked in a crate inside Hackman and Arakawa’s home).
Bear and Nikita, meanwhile, survived and were taken into custody by a Santa Fe animal shelter. They also allegedly assisted members of the sheriff’s department in finding Hackman and Arakawa’s bodies.
Chief Brian Moya revealed earlier this month that one of the dogs ran up to officers and started barking upon arrival for a welfare check.
“They realized [the dog] was trying to say, ‘Hey, come over here! Come over here!’” Moya recalled to USA Today, noting the pet led the officers to a mudroom where Hackman was lying on the floor.
