After 14 months with an adorable puppy, the Today show anchors had to say goodbye to Wrangler the Yellow Labrador Retriever.
The anchors welcomed Wrangler into their lives (and set) when he was just 8 weeks old, making him the youngest member of the Today show in its history. Matt Lauer, Savannah Guthrie, Carson Daly, Tamron Hall and Al Roker bid him a teary goodbye Thursday, wishing him well on the next step of his journey with Guiding Eyes for the Blind.
Over the past year Wrangler has become a Today show staple, hanging out with the anchors and meeting celebrities, including Anne Hathaway, Chrissy Teigen, Dakota Johnson, Cookie Monster and Salma Hayek. The NBC hosts replayed footage of Wrangler getting down and dirty onset with all his new friends.
"Wrangler and I are dating," Teigen joked when she first got to play with him.
Footage of Wrangler's "firsts" also played, including his first time climbing the stairs, his first birthday and even his first snow. We're not tearing up...you are!
But after today Wrangler will be all grown up and ready to start his mission on helping others. On Tuesday his trainer Saxon Eastman will take him for his IFT test, where he'll be tested on how he responds to loud noises and distractions along a route. If When he passes, he'll officially start his formal guide dog training.
"I feel really good about him," Eastman told the anxious NBC morning show stars. "He's a really nice dog and I feel like all of the love he's received here and all the experiences he's had. I think he has the best chance to have success."
Good luck, Wrangler!
(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)