A happy ending for Hawkeye: Dog in heart-breaking photo by fallen master's coffin to spend rest of life with Navy SEAL's friend



Petty Officer Jon Tumilson, 35, killed in major Afghanistan helicopter crash

Labrador retriever Hawkeye was at emotional service and in tragic photo

But the Navy SEAL's friend Scott Nichols will now be taking care of dog



The Navy SEAL’s dog who tragically refused to leave his fallen master’s side during an emotional funeral is going to a good home.

Labrador retriever Hawkeye sat by the coffin of his master Petty Officer Jon Tumilson, 35, who was killed in the major U.S. helicopter crash in Afghanistan this month.

Mr Tumilson was remembered by around 1,500 mourners but it was Hawkeye who really captured the public’s emotions in a photo taken by the fallen SEAL’s cousin, Lisa Pembleton.

Sadness: Navy SEAL Jon Tumilson's Labrador retriever Hawkeye was loyal to the end, as he refused to leave his master's side during an emotional funeral

Man's best friend: Mr Tumilson's family members followed Hawkeye into the service before he lay down

Concerned members of the public who have seen the heart-wrenching photo will be pleased to hear that there is a happy ending for Hawkeye.

He will be staying with Scott Nichols, who had previously looked after him while Mr Tumilson was away on duty overseas. Family members had followed Hawkeye into the funeral.



Nikki Virgilio, a friend of Mr Tumilson - known as J.T. - was at the funeral last week and said Hawkeye was a personal pet rather than a military dog.

'I can happily report to you that Hawkeye was willed to one of J.T.'s good friends, the same one that took care of him whenever J.T. was deployed overseas,' she wrote on Facebook.

‘J.T. was going to be a Navy SEAL come hell or high water,’ Mr Nichols said. ‘J.T. was not afraid to die. He was afraid of losing his parents.’

Big funeral: Petty Officer Jon Tumilson, 35, killed in the Afghanistan helicopter crash this month, was remembered by around 1,500 mourners Pride: Mr Tumilson's mother and father were told they helped raise an 'outstanding man - a hero'

Mr Tumilson, of San Diego, California, was one of 38 killed on August 6 when a rocket-propelled grenade took out a U.S. Chinook helicopter.

'Hawkeye was willed to one of J.T.'s good friends, the same one that took care of him whenever J.T. was deployed overseas' Nikki Virgilio, friend



His funeral was held last Friday in his hometown of Rockford, Iowa, at the Rudd-Rockford-Marble Rock Community School.

Ms Pembleton said: ‘I felt compelled to take one photo to share with family members that couldn't make it or couldn't see what I could from the aisle.

'To say that he was an amazing man doesn't do him justice. The loss of Jon to his family, military family and friends is immeasurable.'

During the service, U.S. Navy Lieutenant Robert Bradshaw told Mr Tumilson's parents that they helped raise an ‘outstanding man - a hero’.

Packed: His funeral was held in his hometown of Rockford, Iowa, at the Rudd-Rockford-Marble Rock Community School

Downed: Mr Tumilson, of San Diego, California, was one of 38 killed on August 6 when a rocket-propelled grenade took out their Chinook helicopter

Family, friends and servicemen, along with Iowa Governor Terry Branstad and U.S. Senator Charles Grassley, packed the school's gymnasium.

'J.T. was going to be a Navy SEAL come hell or high water. J.T. was not afraid to die. He was afraid of losing his parents' Scott Nichols, friend

‘If J.T. had known he was going to be shot down when going to the aid of others, he would have went anyway,’ friend and soldier Boe Nankivel said.

Mr Tumilson's sister, Kristie Pohlman, said he always dreamed of joining the military's elite special forces unit.

‘Your dreams were big and seemed impossible to nearly everyone on the outside,’ she said. ‘I always knew you'd somehow do what you wanted.’

Mr Tumilson, who joined the Navy in 1995, is survived by two sisters and his parents, George and Kathleen.