Local

Roethlisberger leaves emotional goodbye for dog Zeus

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger posted on his Facebook page Thursday that his dog, Zeus, passed away.

Roethlisberger started the post with, “Zeus – gone, but never forgotten.”

Ben went on to say that they took Zeus to the vet earlier this week, and after running tests, they found out he had cancer in his intestines.

“We made the painful decision to put him down,” Roethlisberger wrote. “We’re taking comfort in the fact that he wasn’t in pain. We got to see him happy at the end, and that made it a little bit easier, but not much.”

Roethlisberger said Zeus was 9 years old, and his first dog.

“He was my man and had been there through Super Bowls, tough losses, injuries, snow storms and the heat. He was the best and I feel blessed to have had him in my/our lives for so long. I know he’s in heaven waiting to play tag or just cuddle again soon,” Roethlisberger wrote.