It's always sad when we lose the ones we love, and that goes for animals as well as people. We love our pets like the rest of our family, perhaps more in many cases, and so when we have to say goodbye to them, it is heartbreaking. James Gunn had to do just that during the production of The Suicide Squad when his 17-year-old dog, Dr. Wesley Von Spears, passed away. He actually shut down the film's production briefly so that he could return home to be with his dog. And while Von Spears may be gone, he has been immortalized in the new movie, as Gunn has revealed both an easter egg and a cameo by his old friend in the movie.
James Gunn took to Twitter to reveal that the cigars being smoked by the officials in Corto Maltese are a unique brand that you probably aren't familiar with. They are actually Dr. Wesley Von Spears branded cigars. James Gunn's dog appears on the cigar labels as well as the box. Not only that, but the pup has a brief cameo at the end of the film.
If you've followed James Gunn at all on social media over the years, then you've almost certainly seen that dog appear in numerous places. He really did travel the world with the dog and the two shared a very close bond. When Gunn originally announced that his dog had passed away, he received numerous condolence messages on social media from people he directed who had gotten to know the dog themselves on set, and so they also felt the loss.
Losing any pet is hard but losing one you had for 16 years is just that much harder. At that point they really do become as much a part of a family as anybody. We all love our pets but sometimes there are special ones that, for whatever reason, touch our lives in a very different way, and become the pet by which all others are judged. There can still be other wonderful pets, but none quite as special.
It's cool that James Gunn was able to honor Dr. Wesley Von Spears in this very special way that only he can. And now he, and others, can always remember the dog when they go back and watch The Suicide Squad. Now, every time you watch it and you see a character with a cigar, you'll know just who inspired those cigars and what they meant to the director of the film.
And hopefully including his dog in this way was somewhat cathartic for James Gunn. Since this dog seemed like a special one, he'll probably always miss him a little, but this is one really impressive, and hilarious, way to give his old friend a proper goodbye.
