Lewis Hamilton asked fans for their “thoughts and prayers” as he provided a worrying health update about his beloved bulldog Roscoe. The seven-time Formula 1 champion said he had endured a “scary few hours” on Wednesday as he posted a photo of his pooch looking unwell.
Roscoe was seen wrapped in blankets and seemingly in a pod with clear plastic windows at a veterinarian clinic. Taped to the wall of the pod were images of his motorsport superstar owner Hamilton, who seemed to have been shaken by the events of the day.
“It’s been a scary few hours,” the Brit wrote. “Everyone please keep Roscoe in your thoughts and prayers.” Roscoe is around 13 years old and has spent almost all his life as a faithful companion to Hamilton, 40, who adopted the bulldog in 2013.
Of course, the F1 ace spends a lot of his time on the road, competing in 24 races per year. So Roscoe is, much of the time, looked after by trainer Kirstin McMillan, who revealed in April this year that the dog had been suffering from pneumonia. “Roscoe, because I know you are going to ask, he is going to his vet today,” she wrote.
Roscoe, seen here at the 2013 Monaco GP, has been at Lewis Hamilton’s side for more than 12 years (Image: Getty)
“This is a vet that practices veterinary medicine where she combines Eastern and Western, that’s an integrative pet practice. So she’s a real vet, she went to Davis and everything, but she went for a few years of additional training in holistic methods, Chinese medicine, acupuncture and things like that. What she is going to do with him today is a high-dose Vitamin C IV drop and this is supportive care. This is in addition to the strong antibiotics that he is correctly on for his pneumonia.”
Shortly after that update, Hamilton told reporters at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in May that he had made a recovery. The racer said: “He’s 12-and-a-half years old so he’s an old boy. He had pneumonia, but he’s fine now. But definitely this is a time where every time I get a text message from the lady who’s looking after him, my heart stops for a second. You know, what’s next?”
Lewis Hamilton shared a worrying update about Roscoe on Instagram (Image: lewishamilton/Instagram)
“I really want to try and bring him to Silverstone [in July] and take him to Monza [in September] and cheer him up.” Roscoe did indeed appear at the British Grand Prix and was spotted being walked around the paddock by Hamilton, though there was no sign of the bulldog at the Italian Grand Prix earlier this month.
It is not known what is ailing Roscoe this time, though he has lived for an impressively long time for a dog of his breed. Bulldogs tend to have an average lifespan of between eight and 10 years, though not every bulldog lives the sort of pampered lifestyle Hamilton provides for his beloved companion.
