Kerry Kennedy’s dog was brutally mauled while walking on the beach just hours after her mother Ethel died, the grieving daughter revealed in a heartbreaking Instagram post on Thursday.
The 65-year-old lawyer and human rights activist said she was walking her dog Bellini on the beach at the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, on October 10 when Bellini was brutally murdered.
“Out of nowhere, a neighborhood dog attacked Bellini, attacked him and killed him,” Kerry wrote. ‘It was terrifying and violent and incomprehensible.
“All I could make of it is that Mom wanted a companion for her journey, and she got the very best in Bellini.”
Kerry, the daughter of Ethel and Robert F. Kennedy, further suggested that she has forgiven her neighbor as she continues to process her grief.
Kerry Kennedy, the 65-year-old daughter of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy, revealed Thursday that her dog, Bellini, was brutally beaten to death just hours after her mother’s death.
She said she and her daughter were walking with Bellini at the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, when a neighborhood dog attacked
She said the unidentified dog owner was “undone by the entire episode.
“He emailed me every day expressing his displeasure and offering help,” Kerry said. ‘He called me yesterday to say he had sent away his beloved dog and we were both on the phone together because we had lost our pets.’
‘As I look back on the event, I am heartbroken to have lost my beautiful companion, and I am also grateful that I have a neighbor who was kind to me in the aftermath, and who, instead of the easy attitude of defensiveness, denial and guilt, made the difficult decision for the greater good,” she continued.
“I feel sad, but I also know that I am blessed.”
Kerry’s 96-year-old mother suffered a stroke the week before and died just hours before the dog was killed
Bellini’s death came at a difficult time for Kerry, after her 96-year-old mother died of a stroke earlier that day.
Ethel was the mother of eleven children with the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy, whom she married in 1950. He was murdered in 1968.
At the time of his death, she was pregnant with their youngest child, Rory, who the senator never met.
After her husband’s death, Ethel founded the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights and worked tirelessly for world peace.
In April, Kennedy celebrated her final birthday surrounded by her family, including children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Kerry attended her mother’s funeral service in Hyannis Port the following Monday and was accompanied by her ex-husband Andrew Cuomo, along with their three daughters, Mariah, Michaela and Cara.
Kerry attended her mother’s funeral service in Hyannis Port the following Monday and was accompanied by her ex-husband Andrew Cuomo, along with their three daughters, Mariah, Michaela and Cara.
They were joined by Max Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy, Anthony Shriver, former Congressmen Joe Kennedy II and Joe Kennedy III, among others.
Only close friends and family were invited to the private ceremony, and many showed up in military fatigues to pay their respects.
Members of the family were escorted to the site by Barnstable police and a security force, with officers standing guard at the entrance to the church and the surrounding area.
Following the service, a private wake was held near the family residence at the exclusive Hyannisport Club.