RIP Tillman the skateboarding bulldog
There seemed to be no balance-based sport this stout Renaissance pup couldn't master. He snowboarded, he surfed, and, most famously, he skateboarded.
But on Tuesday, Tillman flipped his last board. At 10 years old, the English bulldog died of heart problems on the way to the veterinarian. His owner, Ron Davis, wrote in a Facebook post that Tillman was his best bud. "We shared so many memories skating, surfing, and hanging out together. No words can truly describe how much he'll be missed."
Tilly was more speed demon than trickster and could be seen flying confidently across the rolling cement hills of local Southern California skate parks. He showed an early interest in skateboarding and, in 2007, after Davis posted a video of Tillman hitting a Santa Monica skate park on YouTube, the laid-back pup was catapulted into the limelight. He went on to star in his own commercial, achieve honorary U.S. Marine status, and earn a Guinness World Record for the fastest skateboarding dog.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Tilly may not have been the first dog to skate, but, in the YouTube era, this beloved "ham" was by far the best and most charismatic extreme sportsman on four legs. Lauren Hansen
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Lauren Hansen produces The Week’s podcasts and videos and edits the photo blog, Captured. She also manages the production of the magazine's iPad app. A graduate of Kenyon College and Northwestern University, she previously worked at the BBC and Frontline. She knows a thing or two about pretty pictures and cute puppies, both of which she tweets about @mylaurenhansen.
-
Navy jet, helicopter crash half-hour apart off carrierSpeed Read A US Navy helicopter and a fighter jet both crashed in the same half-hour during separate operations
-
Hurricane Melissa slams Jamaica as Category 5 stormSpeed Read The year’s most powerful storm is also expected to be the strongest ever recorded in Jamaica
-
Protesters fight to topple one of Africa’s longstanding authoritarian nationsIn the Spotlight Cameroon’s president has been in office 1982
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditionsSpeed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billionSpeed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on recordSpeed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homesSpeed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creatureSpeed Read
