Tom Holland pays tribute to his beloved dog Tessa after her death

The actor adopted the Staffordshire Bull Terrier Tessa as a puppy in 2014
Lisa McLoughlin 22 April 2024
The Weekender

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Tom Holland has paid tribute to his family’s beloved Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Tessa, after his father announced the pet’s death.

The Spider-Man actor took to Instagram on Sunday to share a photo of his late dog, shortly after his father Dominic Holland wrote about the pooch’s passing on his blog.

The 27-year-old penned alongside a throwback photo of Tessa: “Missing my lady”.

The actor's father, aged 56, revealed that the family planted a tree in their front garden, using it as a place to scatter Tessa's ashes.

The comic wrote: “Not so much an obituary — but more an insight into the final lap of the life of a remarkable little dog who had come to dominate my family — indeed, she was the only Holland who everyone loved all of the time.”

Holland and his family adopted Tessa in 2014 when he was still living at home, and introduced her via Instagram.

He wrote alongside a photo of her as a puppy on his shoulder: “I would like to introduce to everyone little Tess. The newest member of the family.”

The British actor regularly spoke about his beloved pet in interviews and often brought her to movie sets as well as red carpets.

While promoting 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, the screen star brought her to one star-studded red carpet, telling Time: “I love her, she is an angel.

“Staffies are considered to be very dangerous dogs, which is not true, is not the case. They are not aggressive. She is the sweetest, most angelic thing you'll ever meet.”

He added: “And yeah, I brought her along because I've always wanted to bring her to a press event.

“She got super scared of the cameras at first and just ran away. But then she came back and had a really nice time.”

News of Tessa’s passing comes as Holland gears up for his West End return in Jamie Lloyd’s Romeo & Juliet at the Duke of York theatre beginning next month.

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