‘Game Of Thrones’ Cast Member From First Episode Passes, Mourned In Online Tributes

Bruce Haring
·4 min read

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A character seen in the first Game of Thrones episode has died after being diagnosed with mouth cancer in November.
TMZ reports that Odin, an Inuit dog who played Summer the direwolf in the original Winter Is Coming episode in 2011, has passed. The dog played Bran’s direwolf in the episode.
Odin’s owners confirmed the sad news with an Instagram post on Thursday. They got the dog as a seven-week-old puppy and said he passed in his sleep after a restful and enjoyable final days.
Although most of the dire wolves on Game Of Thrones were CGI creations, the early episodes used some live dogs. Dire wolves actually existed, but went extinct centuries ago. They lived in the Americas during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene epochs. The Oregon breeder who owned Odin is trying to restore them to glory as domesticated animals that resemble their prehistoric cousins.
“We can all take great comfort in knowing that he is forever immortalized in the great TV Show Game of Thrones as Summer Bran Starks’ Direwolf Pup in Season 1 episode 1.”
HBO and the show producers didn’t abandon Odin. They helped to raise funds for the family so Odin could get special treatment in Dublin each week.

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Our family are at immense heartbreak to announce that Odin passed away early this morning. It’s difficult to put into words how this has impacted us as a family for Odin lead a life like no other dog. Odin was a family member first and we got him when he was a pup at 7 weeks old all we wanted were big dogs to take hiking and to sleep at our feet in the evening beside the fire, everything after that was a bonus. Odins passing marks the end of a decade and the end of an era as he taught our friends and family a lot of lessons about life for one dog he has more stories to tell than some people would. Odin has far too many achievements to announce in this post but just look at our social media pages over the past 5 years and see. We can all take great comfort in knowing that he is forever immortalised in the great TV Show Game of Thrones as Summer Bran Starks Direwolf Pup in Season 1 episode 1 . To everyone that was lucky enough to meet him and put a smile on your face please remember that moment. It’s an incredible piece of luck to have a pet you love so well become world famous and touch so many peoples hearts. He was always fond of the beach and his favourite treats which he had almost everyday before his passing. He was met with further illness as the week continued and the vets did everything they could to keep him going but he passed away in his sleep. We are incredibly grateful for the donations made towards Odin treatment and we will use what is needed to pay his vet bill and we will donate the rest between our favourite dog charities the donations will help further dogs in need at this tough time. If you have photos or videos or stories about Odin then please send them or share them with us. Please understand we will try reply to all your messages at this very difficult time in our lives.

A post shared by GoT Direwolves (@got_direwolves) on Mar 26, 2020 at 4:26am PDT

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