Tom Hardy writes heartfelt letter to his beloved dog that passed away

Tom Hardy considered his dog Woody the "light of his life." Sadly, Woody recently passed away and the actor's public tribute to the dog is both heartbreaking and beautiful.

Woody was Hardy's faithful companion and accompanied him to movie premieres, film sets, and was even on TIME magazine's list of most influential animals.

In the letter, Hardy describes how he rescued Woody off a busy highway.

I first saw Woodstock [Woody] running across a turnpike we were turning onto late one dark night in Peachtree Georgia Atlanta. Whilst we were shooting Lawless. He was a stray. 11 weeks old. Oh No we thought. Quickly Go get that dog...

Hardy also describes the humorous way that he came up with the dog's name.

Jessica asked me was he a girl or a boy. Its a boy I said. How do you know. Erm… I can feel his Woodstock. great !!! let’s call him Woodstock!!! And so it was.

Tom Hardy with his dog Woody. Credit: Dave Benett/WireImage/GETTYIMAGES

The actor discussed the beautiful way Woody touched all the people he encountered.

Everyone who met him loved him. He didn’t have a bad bone in his body. All he knew was love.

Woody fought a six-month battle "with an aggressive polymyostisis," a disease causes skeletal muscle damage.

Woody passed away, two days ago. He was only Age 6. He was Far too young to leave us and We at home are devastated by his loss I am ultimately grateful for his loyal companionship and love and it is of some great comfort that he is no longer suffering.

Woody is described in the letter as, "a shining example of man’s best friend. He burnt [sic] very very bright and, those that burn very bright sometimes burn half as long."

Clearly, Woody was a lucky dog surrounded by lots of love. Read the heartfelt letter in full here.