Lewis Hamilton asks for 'love and support' as dog Roscoe in coma - when did Ferrari star adopt him and how long is a bulldog's lifespan?
Lewis Hamilton has urged his fans to send “love and support” his way after his dog Roscoe was put into a coma.
Roscoe, who is 12 years old, was diagnosed with pneumonia in April and has been on medication ever since.
But this week, the bulldog has suffered a second round of pneumonia and his heart stopped as vets rushed to his aid. Roscoe is now in a coma after what Hamilton, 40, described as a “scary few hours”.
The seven-time world champion said: “Please keep Roscoe in your thoughts. I want to keep you all updated. Roscoe caught pneumonia again and was struggling to breathe.
“He was admitted into hospital and sedated to calm him while they did checks on him and during the process his heart stopped.
“They managed to get a heartbeat back and now he’s in a coma. We don’t know whether he will wake from this.
“Tomorrow we’ll try to wake him up. I’m by his side and want to thank you all for your prayers and support.”
Hamilton adopted Roscoe 12 years ago in 2013, and in a bid to improve his health has put the dog onto a plant-based diet in recent years. Roscoe has struggled with walking and breathing, issues that are common among bulldogs.
Speaking to the Mercedes-Benz F1 team’s YouTube channel in a Q&A session, Hamilton said: “I remember being online, looking online for rescues. There’s some page I found that had like 1,000 bulldogs and I just went through all of them and then I came across this one picture and I was like, ‘That’s him!’
“That was like one of the best decisions I ever took in my life.”
The average life expectancy for a British bulldog is eight to 10 years, with the brachycephalic breed more prone to health problems than other types of dog.