In a heart wrenching Instagram post on May 8, 2025, Hallmark star Aaron O’Connell shared the death of his beloved dog, Fig, thanking him for “the greatest 10 years of companionship I’ve ever known.”
“How do you say goodbye to your best friend?” the “Junebug” star wrote the day after losing Fig. “I couldn’t, because I know he’ll always be with us.”
O’Connell, a volunteer pilot who delivers rescue pups to their new owners when he’s not filming, revealed that Fig had overcome multiple ailments in his decade of life, including “paralysis when he was 2, and seizures when he was 5.”
After Fig was diagnosed with an “aggressive form of cancer,” O’Connell wrote, “I’ve never witnessed more resilience in the way he handled all the hopeful treatments we so desperately sought. He took everything we threw at him, until we felt it was no longer to his benefit, only our own.”
Hallmark’s Aaron O’Connell Says Fig Was ‘With Me Always’
O’Connell and his wife of nearly seven years, model Natalie Pack, ran an Instagram account featuring Fig, sharing photos of his adventures with them and their nearly three-year-old son. The actor shared many of those photos in his May 8 post, too.
“He was with me always, and that’s what we both wanted—to be together whenever possible,” O’Connell wrote in his post. “He watched me tinker with things at the airport while he laid in his bed in the sun just outside my hangar. He made our 5 mile runs on the beach look easy, and he kept up with his Grandpa’s 5 mile hikes on top of it. He was there when we traveled all across the US for work and family, and I loved falling asleep next to him in hotel beds (the only time he ever wanted to be in any bed other than his own).”
Feeling Fig’s absence deeply, O’Connell admitted, “It’s hard to open the door and not see him wiggling about, bringing us his toys and nuzzling his face into our hands. Our house feels empty without him here. There’s a silence where there was once the pitter patter of his paws behind me everywhere I went.”
The alum of Tyler Perry’s “The Haves and Have Nots” series shared that Fig loved everyone and everyone loved Fig.
“Tyler Perry once gave him a shout-out in a Madea play (‘that good boy Fig!’) because he knew we were in the audience that night,” O’Connell recalled.
“The last thing I wanted was for my good buddy to ever suffer,” the “Made For Each Other” star continued. “He did a good job, and now it was my job to respect his life with the love he deserved. I’m so proud of him, and so proud to call myself his dad.”
“We are a family who loves so deeply it lasts from this life into the next,” O’Connell added. “I will miss him every single day until we meet again. My heart is so broken but our memories will mend it.”
Signing the post “Dad” and including Fig’s birthdate (September 28, 2014) and date of death (May 7, 2025), O’Connell concluded, “Fig, thank you for being the best copilot I could ask for. You are a gift I could have only dreamed of in this lifetime. I love you so much.”
Aaron O’Connell Used to Take Fig to Airport Hangar With Him
Fig used to accompany O’Connell to the airport hangar earned as he prepped for flights. The actor earned his private pilot’s license in 2012, according to People, and bought a Cirrus SR22T (Turbo) plane. He’s found an innovative to work toward earning a “commercial rating,” which would allow him to be paid to fly, according to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.
To get more practice and rack up flight miles, he discovered the nonprofit organization Pilots N Paws, which pairs up volunteer pilots with animal rescues and shelters who need help transporting pets long distance, for free.
He told People in April 2024, “I started doing these flights, and I found out that I loved it more than I thought I would because you’re not only rescuing these animals, or taking them to life-saving surgeries, or adding new members to families, but you’re meeting great people that want to be part of a great mission.”
Many of O’Connell’s fans filled his latest post with sympathy and love on May 8, including one who wrote, “Aaron, I am so sorry for your loss. It’s breaking my heart reading this lovely tribute. I followed you both for years on Instagram and the love shined through every single photograph. I know you will miss him dearly. You both were blessed with a beautiful unconditional love. I wish he could be here in body as well as spirit until you are reunited. Wishing you much peace. ❤️”
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Hallmark Star Shares Heart Wrenching Tribute to His Beloved Pup: ‘My Heart is Broken’