upworthy

malala yousafzai

Pop Culture

Jon Stewart breaks down in tears announcing the death of his beloved dog, Dipper

"In a world of good boys, he was the best."

The Daily Show/Youtube

Jon Stewart breaks down into tears remembering his late dog, Dipper

Jon Stewart might be best known as a late night show host and political commentator, but he is also a very loving dog dad.

That became evident Monday (26 February), as Stewart, eyes already bloodshot, as though he had been weeping the night before, told “The Daily Show” viewers that his beloved dog Dipper had passed away the day before.

“In a world of good boys, he was the best,” Stewart said, his voice already breaking. “I thought I’d get further.”

Tears kept rolling as he paid an emotional tribute to his late dog, sharing the story of how Dipper came to be part of his family.

Stewart recalled that twelve years ago, his kids wanted to raise money for an animal shelter in New York called Animal Haven. After baking cupcakes to sell just outside Animal Haven, the staff brought out a “one-ish year old brindle pitbull” who had lost his right leg after being hit by a car. After Dipper sat in Stewart’s lap for the first time, all bets were off.

Since that fateful day, Dipper became “part of the OG ‘Daily Show’ dog crew.”

“We’d come to tape this show, and Dipper would wait for me to be done,” he said. “He met actors and authors and presidents and kings. And he did what the Taliban could not do, which is, put a scare into Malala Yousafzai.”

He then ran a clip of Yousafzai getting spooked by Dipper during her guest appearance.

Stewart then delivered the heartbreaking news that “Dipper passed away yesterday. He was ready. He was tired, but I wasn’t. And the family, we were all together.”

“My wish for you is one day you find that dog, that one dog… It’s just… It’s the best,” Stewart concluded.

The segment ended with a moment of silence for Dipper as a video of him happy in the snow played with the credits.

Watch the touching moment below:

The raw video resonated with so many viewers, and even inspired some to share their own tragic losses. One thing became clear: this heartbreak is a feeling shared by parents.

As one Youtube commenter poignantly wrote:

“Anyone who has had a pet will know that grief and loss are a part of that beautiful, goofy, loving, sometimes chaotic package. We know it when we take them on, and yet somehow, when the time comes, it's always the same, heart-wrenching, emptying experience. I am so glad you found your heart-dog, and that he found you and your family.”

Though Dipper will be missed, Stewart is not without animals in his life. Eight years ago, Stewart and his wife traded in their city life to live on a farm, which eventually became the fourth property of Farm Sanctuary, an advocacy group that fights the factory farm industry and cares for abused animals.

From Your Site Articles
celebrities
More

Malala says what many of us are thinking when it comes to Trump and refugees.

In an interview with "CBS This Morning," Malala Yousafzai offered some words of advice for President Donald Trump.

The 19-year-old Pakistani activist was in New York City to be honored as the newest U.N. Messenger of Peace — the highest recognition given by the United Nations — on April 10, 2017. She's the youngest recipient to have earned the title.

Speaking to "CBS This Morning," Yousafzai encouraged Trump to visit a refugee camp to learn more about the people who've been affected by conflict in Syria.

Photo by Vegard Wivestad Grott/AFP/Getty Images.

Yousafzai, who gained global notoriety for surviving a gunshot wound to the head at the hands of the Taliban in 2012 for daring to go to school as a girl, has focused her efforts on broadening access to education for children, particularly in the developing world.

"Once you educate girls, you change the whole community, you change the whole society," Yousafzai said on stage at the U.N., CNN reported.

Yousafzai's visit to America — and message for Trump — comes amid growing despair for Syrian families grappling with tragedy.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons to attack a rebel-backed region of his own country on April 4, 2017. More than 80 people, many of them children, were killed in the gruesome assault, with hundreds more injured.

A Syrian child receives treatment after the chemical attack. Photo by Mohamed Al-Bakour/AFP/Getty Images.

In what some critics have blasted as nothing more than a theatrical show of power accomplishing nothing, Trump approved targeted air strikes against Assad's regime — with no long-term strategy in place.

While many politicians and talking heads jumped for joy at the show of force, many others pointed to the hypocrisy of Trump's broader stance on Syria: If the president is so disturbed by a chemical attack on innocent people, shouldn't he also be accepting those same victims as refugees in the U.S.?

It's a question that's not lost on Yousafzai.

"It's important that [Trump} understands that these people are in need," she explained in the interview with "CBS This Morning."

"And I have seen them — I have went to refugee camps — and I think he needs to go to these refugee camps."

Yousafzai, who opened a school for Syrian refugee girls in 2015, said in January she was "heartbroken" over Trump's proposed Muslim and refugee travel ban to the U.S.

A Syrian woman prepares tea near her family's tent at a refugee camp in Turkey in 2014. Photo by Gokhan Sahin/Getty Images.

Because of the magnitude of the refugee crisis, humanitarian groups have been struggling to provide enough resources to ensure such camps have food, water, and adequate shelter for the families in desperate need.

While the victims of the horrific chemical attack certainly need our support, Yousafzai reminded viewers at home — and Trump — that so do the millions of Syrian refugees who'd already lost everything before last week.  

"He needs to know what real life is like in a refugee camp," she reiterated.

Watch a clip from the interview below:

More

Malala had a spot-on response to the anti-Muslim rhetoric we're hearing.

Malala Yousafzai links anti-Muslim rhetoric with a rise in terrorism.

Being both Muslim and a survivor of terrorism, Malala Yousafzai knows a thing or two about both subjects.

The Pakistani children's rights activist, who became famous after being shot in the head by the Taliban back in 2012, recently spoke out against a rise in global anti-Muslim sentiment after the attacks in Paris last month.

She didn't mince words.

Photo by Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP/Getty Images.

Yousafzai wants to be clear: Linking all Muslims to terrorism doesn't boost national security — it makes us all less safe.

When asked about the recent inflammatory (and false) things said about Islam, as well as a proposed ban on all Muslim immigration here in the U.S., Yousafzai explained why such rhetoric does so much damage.

"The more you speak about Islam and against all Muslims, the more terrorists we create," she told Channel 4 News in the U.K. "So it's important that whatever politicians say, whatever the media say, they should be really, really careful about it."

"If your intention is to stop terrorism, do not try to blame the whole population of Muslims for it, because [that] cannot stop terrorism. It will radicalize more terrorists."

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.

Many others agree that Islamophobia isn't just immoral, it's bad foreign policy.

In addressing the nation after the terror attacks in San Bernardino, California, earlier this month, President Obama stressed that blaming all Muslims for terrorism actually helps ISIS by upping its recruitment.

Photo by Martin H. Simon-Pool/Getty Images.

It's a perspective that's shared with other (but not all) presidential candidates, as well as experts on the matter, who believe grouping all Muslims in with the (very) small faction of extremists — and closing the door on Syrian refugees for that reason — plays into the terrorists' narrative.

"When ISIS executes its attacks, it has a script," Owen Jones wrote for The Guardian. "It knows that Muslims will be blamed en masse in the aftermath. One of its key aims, after all, is to separate western societies and their Muslim communities: If Muslims are left feeling rejected, besieged and hated, ISIS believes, then the recruitment potential will only multiply."

If anyone knows that inclusion is the best way to heal (and promote good policy-making), it's Yousafzai.

The human rights leader — who now lives in England — has firsthand experience.

Photo by Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images.

"What I went through in my life was a horrible incident," she told Channel 4 News. "But here [in the U.K.], the love of people really strengthened me. And it continues to strengthen me. That's why I am able to continue my campaign for education."

"I'm really thankful to people here in the UK for all their support, their love and for making me feel that this is home, and that [I] have the right to live and that [I] deserve love and kindness."

Watch Yousafzai's interview with Channel 4 News:

More

We know Malala won the Nobel Peace Prize. Do you know what she's done to girls around the world?

What can one girl do? Apparently a lot. Simply awe-inspiring.

Unless you've lived under a rock, you've probably heard of Malala Yousafzai.

She's the teenage girl from Pakistan who's made quite a name for herself as an advocate for girls' and women's education.

In October 2012, the Taliban shot her because she fought for women's education.

Malala was 15 at the time. She lived in the Swat Valley of Pakistan, where the Taliban slowly began to take control when she was a young girl. One of the key philosophies of the Taliban was that women should not have an education.

Despite the risk, Malala blogged anonymously for BBC about her life as a girl under the Taliban. Soon enough, her real identity was revealed, and she began receiving threats from the Taliban.

By the stroke of a miracle, she did not die.

Malala got shot on the left side of her head and had to undergo many facial surgeries. Fortunately, she eventually went back to living as normal, and studying in the U.K., where she continued advocating against the Taliban and for women's education.

Two years later, in 2014, Malala won a Nobel Peace Prize.

Take that, Taliban.

And now, Malala's brilliance is inspiring girls around the world.

You should watch to see how. Seriously.

Trending Stories