The heartbreaking final act of loyalty from Gene Hackman‘s dogs has been revealed.
Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa’s dogs, German Shepherd Bear and Akita-shepherd mix Nikita, were found by first responders roaming freely on the couple’s sprawling Santa Fe estate.
Police, paramedics and the Fire Department rushed to the home on February 26 after a caretaker made the grisly discovery of Arakawa’s dead body.
However, they were then unable to immediately locate Hackman and after over 30 minutes they had still not found the Oscar winning actor.
During their search one of the dogs constantly ran up to them barking and running off in different locations.
The first responders thought they wanted to play however this was not the case.
‘They realized (the dog) was trying to say, “Hey, come over here! Come over here!”.’ Chief Brian Moya told USA Today.
Once they followed the dog it led them to Hackman’s body in the mudroom which the dog then sat next to.
One of their dogs Nikita was ‘skittish because of all the commotion’ and refused to leave the sides of both of her owners, the authorities said.
Both dogs who are now in a boarding facility until the couple’s wills are read and they can be rehomed.
The autopsy of the couple revealed that Arakawa, 65, died about a week before Hackman on February 11.
Her cause of death was Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome – a rare rat-borne disease that produces flu-like symptoms but can be deadly with a 38 per cent death rate according to the CDC.
Hackman, 95, on February 18 before the couple’s mummified remains were found in separate rooms of their $3.8 million home on February 26.
Dr. Heather Jarrell, Chief Medical Investigator for the state of New Mexico, said their deaths had both been ruled as natural, and that no signs of internal or external trauma were found.
Their dog Zinna, who was found dead near Arakawa, who was picked up from a veterinary hospital on February 9 after undergoing a procedure, which may explain why it was found in a kennel, according to authorities.
Jarrell said there was no reliable method to get an exact time for death, but concluded that Hackman probably died around February 18.
In a full timeline of events, officials said that Arakawa had picked up their dog Zinna from a vet hospital after the dog underwent treatment on February 9.
On February 11, they said she had an email conversation with her massage therapist before later in the afternoon going to a farmers market.
She was caught on CVS surveillance footage shortly after the market, before then going to a local pet food store.
Her car was then seen on surveillance entering the gated community at 5:15pm on February 11.
Officials said that numerous emails went unopened on February 11, and that there was no further communication from her account after that day.
Detectives are still waiting on retrieving her full cell phone data, but said her last known activity was February 11.
Hackman was discovered lying on the ground of a mud room just off the kitchen with his sunglasses and cane nearby, indicating he may have fallen according to officials.
Jarrell said that there was no food inside Hackman, and that there was no signs of dehydration.
‘Mr. Hackman showed evidence of advanced Alzheimer´s disease,’ Jarrell said.
‘He was in a very poor state of health. He had significant heart disease, and I think ultimately that’s what resulted in his death.’
Hackman shared three children with his first wife Faye Maltese. He and Arakawa, a classical pianist, had been married for the last three decades.
The gruff-but-beloved Hackman was among the finest actors of his generation, appearing as villains, heroes and antiheroes in dozens of dramas, comedies and action films from the 1960s until his retirement in the early 2000s.
He was a five-time Oscar nominee who won for The French Connection in 1972 and Unforgiven two decades later.
Hackman met Arakawa, a classically trained pianist who grew up in Hawaii, when she was working part-time at a California gym in the mid-1980s.
They soon moved in together, and by the end of the decade had decamped to Santa Fe.
A naturally private man, Hackman was labelled a recluse as he remained out of the public eye for years on end following his retirement from the movie industry. He retired from acting in 2004.
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