Gene Hackman and wife's deceased dog, who was found in the same apartment, was not their German Shepard, Bear.
Reports from the Associated Press and USA Today discovered that the dead dog was their kelpie mix, named Zinna.
Zinna died in a crate in the closet of the bathroom where Hackman's wife Betsy Arakawa was found alongside a bottle of pills and a space heater, AP reported, citing the police.
Joey Padilla, who owns a facility that has been caring for the two surviving dogs since their owners' deaths, recently issued a statement regarding the deceased pet.
“[Zinna] was always attached to Betsy at the hip and it was a beautiful relationship,” Padilla told the AP. “Zinna went from being a returned shelter dog to this incredible companion under Betsy’s hand.”
Sherry Gaber, an animal chiropractor who was friends with the Hackmans, told USA Today that both Zinna and Bear were rescued pets.
Betsy adopted Zinna from a shelter while Bear was picked up from the side of a highway.
Zinna was reportedly getting agility training to get entry into the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.
“They wanted to do all the right things for their animals because they loved them so deeply,” Gaber reportedly said of Gene and Betsy.
Padilla told the paper that he would take care of the dogs until wills are sorted out and that the animals would not be taken to a shelter.
Gene and Betsy Hackman, who married in 1991, did not have any kids together.
