Inside Meghan's special relationship with her beloved rescue dog Guy: After falling in love with the Beagle, he became her globetrotting companion she couldn't live without - travelling with her around the world

Almost everyone knows that losing a beloved pet is one of the most painful experiences in life.

Over the years, some pets become so ingrained in a family that life without them can be difficult to imagine.

For Meghan Markle, there has been one pet who has always had a special place in her heart - a Beagle called Guy.

In a heartbreaking tribute on Instagram, the Duchess of Sussex, 43, announced his death on Tuesday with a touching video montage of his life, as she admitted crying 'too many tears to count'.

Guy's life was truly a 'rags to riches' tale. He was found abandoned deep in the woods in Kentucky without food or water in 2015, before being placed in a 'kill shelter' until Meghan finally rescued him.

Since then the Beagle has been Meghan's constant companion, with her at every milestone in her life, from Hollywood celebrity to royal and back again.

Guy lived with her in a trendy Toronto neighbourhood while she starred in legal drama Suits, before making the trip with her to Kensington Palace after her relationship with Harry started, and then moving to California following Megxit.

He became her 'absolute world' and was there when Harry proposed in 2017, rode in a car alongside the late Queen on the day of Meghan's wedding in 2018, and was her source of comfort during the pandemic. 

In her heartfelt social media tribute to him, Meghan wrote: 'If you followed me on Instagram back in the day, you saw a lot of him - and on The Tig too. 

'He was with me at Suits, when I got engaged, (and then married), when I became a mom….he was with me for everything: the quiet, the chaos, the calm, the comfort.'

Meghan has always been a controversial character who attracts a lot of interest from detractors online, but following Guy's death, even they seem to have fallen silent.  

He even starred in his own book in November 2018, titled 'His Royal Dogness, Guy the Beagle: The Rebarkable True Story of Meghan Markle's Rescue Dog', which told the story of his royal rescue.

The book, which was not affiliated with Meghan or the Palace, followed his 'wags to riches' tale and revealed 'how he went from pawper to proper'.

But although Meghan certainly deserves credit, Guy was actually rescued by the charity A Dog's Dream Rescue which picked him up from Kentucky and took him to Toronto so he could get adopted.

A network of volunteers helped transport him more than 500 miles to the Canadian border, each driving him for one hour before handing him over to the next waiting car. 

When he eventually made it to Canada, he spent days at the shelter as nobody came forward to adopt him, so he was eventually put on the euthanasia list. 

Beagles were put down in Kentucky more than in any other state, so when Meghan spotted Guy, she knew she had found someone who needed her and later said she 'fell in love'.

'He was just sitting there with those big Beagle sad eyes, looking so depressed. He was irresistible,' the charity boss Dolores Doherty told The Guardian in 2018.

Dozens of people had turned up to meet the 20 or so dogs up for adoption, but Doherty had never heard of Suits and had no inkling of Meghan's celebrity status. 

But she trusted Meghan enough to hand over Guy without visiting her house to check if she had a fenced-in backyard like she claimed on her application. 

Instead, she followed Guy's new life on Instagram, growing delighted as she watched him stroll the streets of Toronto or curl up beside Meghan at home. 

Meghan wrote in her tribute: 'They referred to him as "the little guy" because he was so small and frail, so I named him "Guy". And he was the best guy any girl could have asked for.'

Since then she has always urged her followers to 'adopt not shop' when looking for a pet. 

And when Meghan began dating Prince Harry, despite initially staying in Toronto, Guy became her secret weapon once again.

When she was first introduced to Charles and Camilla, Meghan gushed about her 'fur baby', but Harry wrote in Spare he 'watched Camilla’s face darken' as she told them of his tragic upbringing.

She was the patron of Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, so those kind of stories always hit her hard, alongside Charles who Harry said 'couldn’t bear to think of any animal suffering'.

As things grew more serious between the couple, Meghan moved into Nottingham Cottage at Kensington Palace, bringing along Guy.

Her other dog, an elderly Labrador-shepherd mix called Bogart, never made the cut and was left in Toronto.

Harry later wrote in Spare: 'He'd [Bogart] been so traumatised by the siege of her house, by the constant ringing of the doorbell, that his demeanor changed when Meg was around. He’d become an aggressive guard dog. 

'Meg’s neighbors had graciously agreed to adopt him.' 

But Guy made the long journey to the UK despite having broken both of his legs just days before he left.

He had run away from his minder while Meghan was at work and had been found miles from her house, unable to walk.

His legs had to be put into casts, with Harry writing in his memoir he often had to hold him upright so he could pee. 

The prince wrote: 'I didn’t mind in the least. I loved that dog. I couldn’t stop kissing him, petting him.' 

The poorly pooch had to undergo surgeries for several months and was unable to leave the clinic for some time.

But a distraught Meghan did all she could to get Guy fighting fit again.

She paid for television 'super vet', Professor Noel Fitzpatrick, renowned for his bionic surgery techniques, to work on him.

In her tribute, she wrote: 'He endured a terrible accident shortly before I moved to the UK which had him undergoing surgeries for several months and unable to leave the clinic. 

'Doctors said he would never walk again, but Dr Noel Fitzpatrick said he could do it. H and I would drive late at night, after hours, to see Guy as he recovered in Surrey for months on end.'

Meghan expressed her gratitude to Dr Noel as well as 'the team at Queen West Animal Hospital in TO, our vets now, and my friends and community'.

While Guy was recovering, he was able to play yet another important role in Meghan's life - her engagement to Harry.

The couple's 2022 Netflix show revealed on the night he popped the question they posed for a selfie on a picnic blanket, surrounded by the electric candles Prince Harry had put out for the occasion, with Guy lying between them.

Harry wrote in Spare how as he knelt on the blanket, Guy was at his side as 'both of us looked up searchingly at Meg'.

And at the royal wedding, Guy once again played his part as he was spotted riding in the car with Queen Elizabeth en route to Windsor Castle.

But his old owner at the charity Dolores Doherty told Canadian broadcaster CTV News she suspected that if Meghan had her way, Guy would have worn a bow tie and vest to accompany the ring bearer down the aisle.

Although later reports did emerge that he nevertheless became one of the highlights of the night as he entertained guests at the evening reception.

The pampered pooch had revellers in stitches as he caused chaos, running all over the place and lapping up any spilt canapés.

Guy seems to have played an important role behind the scenes too, with Harry writing in Spare that he and his other dog Pula were the only witnesses to their private ceremony with the Archbishop of Canterbury in their garden in the days prior.

Pula, a black Labrador, was introduced to the family ahead of Archie's birth in 2019 and became Guy's friend. A second Beagle called Mia, was rescued from an animal testing centre by the couple in 2022.

Meghan enjoys having pets around her, revealing in 2021 how they are a source of comfort during times of grief. 

In a foreword for London-based animal welfare charity Mayhew, of which she was a patron, she wrote about how having a pet with you at home during the isolation of lockdown had a 'therapeutic effect'.

Her dogs became so close to her that the fact they didn't move back to London at the beginning of Megxit in early 2020, instead staying in Canada, was seen as a telling sign the couple did not plan on moving back. 

The Daily Mail's royal correspondent Rebecca English said at the time it 'was the biggest clue, in hindsight, that they were unlikely to come back from this so-called holiday'.

The source said: 'Both the duke and duchess adore their dogs and Guy has already been relocated from Canada to London when Meghan moved over.

'She wouldn't have considered a move again for him if it wasn't going to be at least semipermanent.'

But despite Guy having now gone to dog heaven, he is expected to still be the star of Meghan's upcoming cookery show 'With Love, Meghan'.

A sleepy but smiley Guy is featured at the end of the trailer for the highly anticipated show, with Meghan looking over and commenting 'Guy's snoring, a peaceful day'.

In another scene in the trailer, Guy is seen peacefully on the floor in bed while chewing on a bone.

But the broadcasting of the show on January 15 will be the last time Meghan's fans will get to see him.

She wrote in her emotional tribute: 'Thank you for loving him so.

'Because many of you will now see Guy in this new series, I hope you’ll come to understand why I am so devastated by his loss. 

'I think you may fall a little bit in love too.'

At the end of the tribute, she poignantly signed off with this message: 'Thank you for so many years of unconditional love, my sweet Guy. You filled my life in ways you’ll never know. As ever, Meghan.'