Gene Hackman's surviving dogs' final act of loyalty after Hollywood star and his wife found dead at home
14 March 2025, 15:09
The final act of loyalty from Gene Hackman's surviving dogs has been revealed.
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The Oscar-winning star, 95, was found dead at his Santa Fe home last month, alongside his wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa.
One of the couple's dogs was also found dead inside the property.
It has now been revealed that the two surviving dogs assisted paramedics in finding Hackman's body in the property.
Emergency responders were met with the couple's German Shepherd Bear and Akita-shepherd mix Nikita, with the pair bounding toward them before running away.
They were initially thought to have just been playing but paramedics soon realised they were trying to lead them to Hackman.
"They realised (the dog) was trying to say, 'Hey, come over here! Come over here!'" Santa Fe Fire Chief Brian Moya told USA Today.
Read more: Tragic reason it took so long to find Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa after couple died
Hollywood star Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa found dead at their home
Arakawa's body had already been found in the bathroom but it took 30 minutes to find Hackman.
It was the dogs that guided the crew to the mudroom at the far end of the home before sitting down next to his body.
Nikita was "skittish because of all the commotion" and refused to leave the sides of both of her owners, authorities said.
The dogs are understood to have since been moved to a boarding facility until the wills are read.
It comes as a representative for Hackman's estate is seeking to block the public release of autopsy and investigative reports related to his death.
The petition especially sought to block the release of photographs and police body-camera video after the couple's partially mummified bodies were discovered at their New Mexico home last month.
Authorities last week announced that Hackman died at age 95 of heart disease with complications from Alzheimer's disease as much as a week after a rare, rodent-borne disease - hantavirus pulmonary syndrome - took the life of his 65-year-old wife.
Hackman's pacemaker last showed signs of activity on February 18, indicating an abnormal heart rhythm on the day he likely died.
The couple's bodies were not discovered until February 26 when maintenance and security workers showed up at the Santa Fe home and alerted police - leaving a mystery for law enforcement and medical investigators to unravel.
Hackman was one of Hollywood's most famous and bankable stars for more than three decades, from his breakthrough in the early 1970s to his retirement in the early 2000s.
He was nominated for five Academy Awards - for Bonnie and Clyde (1968), I Never Sang For My Father (1970), The French Connection (1971), Mississippi Burning (1988) and Unforgiven (1992).
He won the Best Acting Oscar for the French Connection and Best Supporting Actor for Unforgiven.
