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Associated Press

Gilbert the golden retriever was home with US Democratic leader and Minnesota State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband when a gunman fatally shot the couple and mortally wounded their beloved dog.
And he was with them again on Friday when the Hortmans lay in state at the Capitol in St. Paul.
He is all but certainly the first dog to receive the honour, having been put down after being badly injured in the attack.
There is no record of any other non-human ever lying in state, and Melissa Hortman, a former state House speaker still leading the chamber’s Democrats, is the first woman.
The state previously granted the honour to 19 men, including a vice-president, secretary of state, senators, governors and a Civil War veteran, according to the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library.
Hundreds of people waited outside the Capitol before they were allowed into the rotunda at noon to pay their respects.

Two pedestals sat between the Hortmans’ caskets, one for an arrangement of flowers and the other, for the gold-coloured urn holding Gilbert’s remains.
A memorial outside the House chamber for the Hortmans included a box of Milk-Bone dog biscuits with a sticky note saying: “For the best boy, Gilbert.”
“We’ve all had family, pets, and it’s tragic to have the whole family lost in a moment like that,” said Kacy Deschene, who came to the Capitol from the Minneapolis suburb of Champlin.
Gilbert has received a flood of tributes like Hortman and her husband, Mark, ever since news spread online that he had been shot, too, in the attack early on the morning of June 14, by a man posing as a police officer.
The accused assassin, Vance Boelter, is also charged with shooting a prominent Democratic state senator and his wife, and authorities say Boelter visited two other Democratic lawmakers’ homes without encountering them.
The dog’s injuries were severe enough that surviving family members had him put to sleep at a veterinary clinic in the Hortmans’ hometown of Brooklyn Park, a Minneapolis suburb.
The clinic, Allied Emergency Veterinary Service, called Gilbert “sweet and gentle” and “deeply loved” on a GoFundMe site raising money for the care of local police dogs.
Volunteers from a non-profit that trains service dogs, Helping Paws, provided a little canine therapy for waiting mourners on Friday at the Capitol, working the crowd with cheerful golden retrievers.
The Hortmans provided a foster home to dogs as part of the animals’ Helping Paws training, and one of them, Minnie, had graduated on to assisting a veteran.
Helping Paws said in a Facebook post hours after the shootings that Gilbert “career changed”. Gilbert had been deemed “too friendly” to be a service dog, KARE-TV reported.
Democratic State Representative Erin Koegel, said after the shootings that the golden retriever had “flunked out of school” and “Melissa wanted him to fail so she could keep him”.


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United States

Melissa Hortman’s ‘best boy’ Gilbert lies in state with slain Minnesota lawmaker

The urn carrying the remains of family dog Gilbert sits next to the caskets of Melissa and Mark Hortman in the State Capitol Rotunda on Friday. Photo: TNS

Former US president Joe Biden pays his respects as Melissa Hortman, her husband Mark Hortman, and their dog Gilbert lie in state in the rotunda of the Capitol building on Thursday. Photo: Getty Images/AFP 

FBI posts US$50,000 reward for suspect in Minnesota lawmaker’s assassination

Photos of suspect Vance Boelter are seen on a wanted poster. Image: FBI via AP

Minnesota lawmakers Melissa Hortman and John Hoffman are seen in official portraits. Photos: Minnesota Senate photographer’s office and Minnesota State Legislature via AFP

Fliers were found on the passenger seat of a vehicle that police believe may belong to the suspect. Photo: Minnesota State Patrol via EPA-EFE

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz pauses as he speaks about the killing of lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband at the State Emergency Operations Centre in Blaine, Minnesota, on Saturday. Photo: Star Tribune via AP

Suspect in shooting of Minnesota lawmakers in custody after manhunt

Vance Luther Boelter, the man accused of assassinating the top Democrat in the Minnesota House, as he was arrested. Photo: Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office via AP

Melissa Hortman (pictured) and her husband, Mark, were killed on Saturday. John Hoffman (pictured) and his wife, Yvette, were injured at their home. Photo: Minnesota State Legislature via AFP

An FBI poster shows images of Vance Boelter, the primary suspect. Photo: FBI via Reuters

Suspect in Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman’s shooting texted friend he ‘might be dead soon’

Armed FBI agents sweep a neighbourhood adjacent to the home of lawmaker Melissa Hortman in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, on June 14. Photo: Star Tribune via AP


The FBI offered a reward of up to US$50,000 for information that could lead to Vance Luther Boelter’s arrest. Photo: EPA-EFE

Lawmaker Melissa Hortman speaks during a news conference in Minnesota in January. Photo: TNS

Minnesota shooting suspect allegedly stalked multiple Democrats; death penalty possible

Vance Boelter, right, who is charged with killing one Minnesota lawmaker and wounding another. Courtroom sketch by Cedric Hohnstadt via AP

Vance Boelter at the Hennepin County Jail in Minnesota. Photo: Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office via AFP

A screenshot from law enforcement footage showing Vance Boelter outside the Hortmans’ home. Photo: Reuters

US man who spent nearly 50 years on death row executed

The gurney in the execution chamber at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary. There have been 25 executions in the United States this year. File photo: AP

Richard Jordan. Photo: Mississippi Department of Corrections via AFP

The gurney in the execution chamber at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary. There have been 25 executions in the United States this year. Photo: AP

News

World

United States & Canada

The golden retriever is believed to be the first dog to receive the honour in US history


The golden retriever is believed to be the first dog to receive the honour in US history.


Crime

Gun violence in the US

Melissa Hortman’s ‘best boy’ Gilbert lies in state with slain Minnesota lawmaker

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The golden retriever is believed to be the first dog to receive the honour in US history

The golden retriever is believed to be the first dog to receive the honour in US history