Inside Allied Emergency Veterinary Service in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, doctors work fast and against time, June 14th was no different.
Dr. Brett Rabe was working when FBI agents rushed Gilbert Hortman through the front doors with multiple gunshot wounds.
“We immediately started stabilizing him providing him with pain medication,” Rabe said.
Gilbert was alert, responsive and friendly despite the trauma he endured. He was shot in the same tragedy that took the lives of Speaker Emerita Melissa and Mark Hortman.
“There’s just a special pain you feel when you see something like that done to an innocent animal,” he said.
Ultimately, Gilbert was humanely euthanized by Colin and Sophie Hortman
But it was how the Hortman’s adult children handled the day that struck Rabe.
“Their grace and composure has to reflect on Rep. Hortman and her husband,” Rabe said. “They had to be remarkable people to have kids that were as graceful and calm as they were.
To the family, Gilbert was more than a pet. He started his life as a service dog before becoming the heart of the Hortman family.
Friday, he received the kind of farewell heroes receive becoming the first animal to lie in state—right next to his partners in life. Not far away, his furry friends standing guard.
In the face of heartbreak—the clinic that worked tirelessly to save him made a choice to turn pain into purpose. They launched a fundraiser “Gilbert’s Legacy: K9 Heroes Fund” — to support the emergency and specialty care needs of local police department’s service dogs.
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