NEED TO KNOW
- Lewis Hamilton shared an update on the health of his 12-year-old bulldog Roscoe in an emotional Instagram post on Friday, Sept. 26
- The seven-time F1 world champion, 40, said his pet is in a coma amid treatment for pneumonia, having previously been treated for the condition earlier this year
- “Tomorrow we’ll try to wake him up,” Hamilton said. “I’m by his side and want to thank you all for your prayers and support”
Lewis Hamilton is holding out hope that his beloved dog, Roscoe, will recover from pneumonia.
On Friday, Sept. 26, the British racing icon, 40, shared an emotional update on his Instagram, revealing that his 12-year-old bulldog is in a veterinary hospital after being diagnosed with pneumonia. He also shared the post on the Instagram Stories of the page he runs for the vegan bulldog.
Hamilton posted a trio of photos of Roscoe at the vet while hooked up to various machines. The Ferrari driver kissed his dog’s head in one snap and placed his hand affectionately on him in another.
“Please keep Roscoe in your thoughts,” Hamilton captioned the post. “I want to keep you all updated. Roscoe caught pneumonia again and was struggling to breathe.
“He was admitted into hospital and sedated to calm him while they did checks on him and during the process his heart stopped,” he continued. “They managed to get a heartbeat back and now he’s in a coma.
“We don’t know whether he will wake from this,” Hamilton concluded. “Tomorrow we’ll try to wake him up. I’m by his side and want to thank you all for your prayers and support.”
The seven-time F1 world champion will not be taking part in Pirelli’s tire tests at Italy’s Mugello circuit today amid Roscoe’s worrying condition, according to Sports Illustrated.
Typically, when Hamilton is traveling the world, his beloved canine is looked after by trainer Kirstin McMillan. However, there aren’t any indicators on her Instagram at this time that she’s also at Roscoe’s side.
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Hamilton’s plea for well wishes for his dog comes after he shared a photo of the pup arriving at the vet on his Instagram Stories earlier this week with the caption, “It’s been a scary few hours, everyone please keep Roscoe in your thoughts and prayers.”
Roscoe, who has over one million followers on his own Instagram, previously had pneumonia in April and required treatment with medication.
Back in 2024, Hamilton told PEOPLE that he had Roscoe for eight years on a “normal diet for dogs” before trying to improve his health by removing meat.
“He always had health issues and would struggle with things like his breathing and his walking,” Hamilton said. “I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help him, so I did some research into things that might improve his health.”
“I saw that having a plant-based diet was something that could be helpful as long as you were making sure the dog was getting all its nutritional needs met, so I decided to try it,” the F1 driver continued.
Noting that a plant-based diet transformed Roscoe’s health, he added, “Even his coat is softer, which is amazing because he loves to be petted!”
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