'You Watched Me Bring My Babies Home': Hilary Duff Mourns Loss of Her Dog

Hilary Duff is in mourning over the loss of one of her closest friends—her dog, Jak.

Duff posted on Instagram Tuesday a tribute to her beloved pup.

"Rest easy my sweet Jak... a true fine wine ....We won't miss you peeing all over the house or barking all night...but I was so lucky to get almost two decades with you!! You watched me bring all my babies home,' Duff wrote.

"You, Lola, and Dubie taught me so much responsibility before having these human babies and you sure gave me a lot of comfort and love when I needed it the most! Night night angel," she added. "I know it's endless [bone emoji]s up there for you! Say Hi to the OG pack. Love you guys," she continued.

Duff is a well-known dog lover. In her tribute to Jak, she mentions two other pups she had in the past. Lola was a chihuahua who died at 7 in 2013 after years of health issues, according to People magazine. Dubie, or, Dubois, was a Bernese Mountain dog, who died at the age of 10 in 2018.

She's also had Beau, a French bulldog, who died in 2016, after spending just over a year with the star.

"I can't fathom never holding his heavy little head in my hands with his two big eyes looking at me again," Duff said of Beau on Instagram when he passed.

Thankfully, Duff still has canine companionship to help her through the loss. She's got four other dogs, according to dog-care site Woof Republic: Winnie, Lucy, Momo and Peaches.

Newsweek reached out to Hilary Duff's representatives for comment.

Though some people may say that pets are just animals, pet owners know how deep the bond is. Losing a pet can be as hard as losing a human friend or relative. The grieving process takes many forms, but Healthline lays out a few suggestions for those, like Duff, suffering from the loss of a beloved pet.

It's important to allow oneself to grieve and be able to express emotions. While it can be tempting to keep grief bottled up, it leads to stress and difficulty down the line. Let it out!

It's worth noting that if there are other pets in the household, they're likely grieving too. It can help pets to keep to a standard schedule that is the same as prior to the death, Healthline says. And, of course, be sure to give them extra cuddles—those can help human and animal grievers.

If possible, it's good to let pets see the body of their dead compatriot and sniff it. It helps them to know that happened, and that the other pet won't be there anymore, according to the American Kennel Club.

And, just like humans, individual pets grieve differently, the AKC says. If a dog isn't grieving the way one might expect, that's okay, and shouldn't be taken as a sign that the living animal didn't like the one that passed.