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Amid all of our celebrations this week about Donald Trump’s historic election win, there were plenty of stories of hardship and loss. One of those stories that hit social media hardest was when former Ohio State quarterback and current college football and NFL announcer Kirk Herbstreit lost his beloved dog Ben to cancer. 

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Ben was not just Herbstreit’s best friend, he was a social media star as he would often accompany Herbstreit to his announcing jobs, especially as a panelist on ESPN’s college football pre-game show, College GameDay. That show is filmed on location at college campuses across the country and, over the years, everyone in attendance and watching on TV got to know Ben very well. 

On Thursday, Herbstreit announced that tragic news: 

The tweet continues: 

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.

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If we’ve said it once, we’ve said it a thousand times: Eat a bag of d*cks, cancer. 

Somehow, Herbstreit managed to perform his job later that night, doing color commentary for the Ravens-Bengals game on Thursday Night Football. The Twitter account MLFootball offered a loving tribute to Ben before the game:

But it was this morning on College GameDay that Herbstreit brought everyone to tears. 

The show was on location in Baton Rouge for the Alabama-LSU game and ESPN showed this video narrated by Herbstreit, which he posted on Twitter:

If you need a minute to wipe your tears and gather yourself, take your time. God knows, this writer did. 

Herbstreit’s words about unconditional love and unity are meaningful in a time of division, while the clips in the video showed how so many people loved Ben. 

He was, as Herbstreit states, America’s Chief Happiness Officer and America’s Best Friend. 

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As Herbstreit said, dogs’ only flaw is that they do not live long enough. And we wish he — and all of us — had Ben with him every Saturday morning for a few more years. 

Babydog, the beloved English bulldog of West Virginia Senator-elect Jim Justice, chimed in as well: 

Yes, we did. And we love you too, Babydog. 

Our prayers are with him right now. We cannot comprehend how he did it either. 

Let it out. This writer has absolutely started leaking again. Heavily.

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We are all going to miss Ben. But no one as much as Herbstreit. 

And God said, ‘I will send them to Earth without wings, so no one suspects they are angels.’

God bless you and keep you as you return to your rightful place in Heaven, Ben. 

You were the goodest boy and you truly were America’s Best Friend.