John Oliver Dedicated His Emmy to His Departed Dog—And All Dogs

During last night’s Emmy Awards ceremony, John Oliver took to the stage when his satirical late-night show, Last Week Tonight, won the award for Outstanding Scripted Variety Series. He thanked his staff, team, network, and family before turning his focus to honoring a special subject: his family’s dog, who recently passed away.

“I also want to thank — this is going to be very silly — our dog,” Oliver said. “We had the most fantastic dog. She was at our wedding and she got us through the pandemic. She was with us through two pregnancies.” 

At this point, orchestral music cut into Oliver’s speech. “Perfect choice of music,” he commented. “We had to say goodbye to her. F*** you, there you go.” 

When the music continued swelling, Oliver added, “I feel like Sarah McLachlan right now,” referencing McLachlan’s forever-relevant 2008 ASPCA commercial.  

The music then stopped, and Oliver continued his speech. “This isn’t just for her,” he added. “This is for all dogs.” 

The audience applauded — and Jon Stewart, who recently lost his own dog and who Oliver previously worked with on The Daily Show, pumped his fist into the air. Oliver concluded: “You are very good girls. You’re very good boys. You all deserve a treat. Play me off now!” 

Fans of Oliver aren’t surprised by his affinity for dogs. Back in 2012, his first ever tweet read: “This is my official account. To prove it’s really me, here’s a photo of my dog holding up today’s newspaper.” In one 2014 segment, Oliver added audio from Supreme Court discussions over videos of pups dressed as justices in an effort to make the arguments more appealing to listen to and criticize the court’s decision not to allow video recordings. And just two years ago, Oliver joined Stephen Colbert on Rescue Dog Rescue, a segment that shows off dogs available for adoption. 

Oliver’s Emmy speech has resonated with dog-lovers — especially those who have lost a pet themselves. “Glad someone did a tribute to their dog when celebrating their success. Dogs get us through the stress of life. They are the best and don’t get enough credit,” one Youtube user commented. Another took Oliver’s words as a reminder to cherish pets while they’re around, adding, “Please hug your dogs.”