‘I thanked her for staying with me, guarding me till I used to be robust sufficient to outlive with out her,’ the artist shared in a Elle essay about her French bulldog Petunia
Anne Marie Tendler/instagram
Anna Marie Tendler is mourning the lack of her French Bulldog, Petunia, and reflecting on how the pet supported her all through her divorce from comic John Mulaney.
In an essay published in Elle Magazine on Monday, Tendler — whose divorce from Mulaney, 40, was finalized in January 2022 — recounted losing her dog in April to coronary heart illness and what a neurologist informed her might’ve been “a mind tumor or mind stem illness.”
“She took her final breaths whereas cradled in my arms. Even after life had left her physique, I sat together with her, held her, and continued to speak to her. I informed her how a lot I like her,” the artist — who had cared for Petunia for 10 years — wrote in her Elle essay. “I informed her how grateful I used to be for her love and companionship. I promised her that I used to be okay and that I might be okay with out her; crushed, lonely, however okay.”
In the essay, Tendler recounted making “the choice that Petunia’s life ought to come to an in depth” and detailed the French bulldog’s influence on her.
The artist wrote that in 2020, throughout “a extreme psychological well being breakdown and what gave the impression to be the upcoming finish of my marriage,” Petunia “would now guard me with the deepest sort of love I had ever identified.”
Tendler added that in a troublesome interval in 2021, Petunia gained much more significance in her life, sharing, “When I used to be hospitalized for melancholy, self-harm, and extreme suicidal ideation within the first two weeks of 2021, the medical doctors requested me to make a listing of my causes for dwelling. Petunia was the one and solely factor on that record.”
Mulaney and Tendler — who married in New York in 2014 — announced their split in May 2021. The information got here three months after Mulaney accomplished a 60-day rehab keep to seek treatment after a relapse of his decades-long battle with addiction.
“I’m heartbroken that John has determined to finish our marriage,” Tendler informed PEOPLE in an announcement on the time of their cut up. “I want him help and success as he continues his restoration.”
While Petunia was a faithful companion throughout Tendler’s divorce, she was not all the time an ideal angel, based on Tendler’s Elle essay.
“While Petunia had an undeniably adorable face, she was not what you would call ‘a good dog.’ She was, in fact, very, very naughty. She inherited one of the worst terrier traits: resource guarding,” Tendler shared within the piece.
“Oh, you dropped a tube of ChapStick? Forget about it; that is Petunia’s now. A sock did not make it into the laundry hamper, and Petunia discovered it? That’s now Petunia’s sock,” she added. “You dared to by chance spill espresso on the ground and wish to clear it up? I’m sorry, do not even take into account getting close to that space with a paper towel. Not solely does that spilled espresso belong to Petunia—the ground under it does as properly.”
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In her heartfelt and sincere tribute to her late pet, the artist additionally included a message for anybody considering of buying a French Bulldog.
“Let this be a disclaimer to any one that is lured to Frenchies by their expressive faces and foolish personalities: if you’re contemplating getting one, do not. They are a breed that persists solely by means of human medical intervention, and ethically, that isn’t a kind of canine that ought to exist. Petunia was a lemon, however she was my lemon, and I cherished her unconditionally.”
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