John Mayer Shares Heartfelt Tribute to His Beloved Dog Moose, Remembering the Joy He Brought at 14

John Mayer and Moose.
Credit :

John Mayer/Instagram

NEED TO KNOW

• John Mayer’s black lab, Moose, has died.
• The musician paid tribute to his late dog with a series of photos from Moose’s life.
• “I’ll think about the dog I had when I was becoming a man, and how he was such a good dog, and that there isn’t ever enough time,” Mayer wrote.

John Mayer is mourning the loss of his dog, Moose.

The musician revealed that his 14-year-old black lab passed away on Thursday, December 4, in a heartfelt Instagram post.

“We said goodbye to Moose yesterday,” Mayer, 48, wrote on Friday, December 5, sharing a carousel of images of Moose from puppyhood to his later years, often enjoying time at their home in Montana.

“He came into my life when I needed pure love, and that’s what he gave me for 14 years,” Mayer reflected. “We traded on that love, as well as something else I now realize was important: routine. For a guy like me who left home at 19 and had never lived the same day twice, our routine brought real comfort and stability. When dinner is always at 8, and the afternoon walks are at 4:30, those kinds of things can heal your heart. And they did, time and time again.”

Mayer expressed deep gratitude for Moose, saying, “Today my heart is so heavy and sore, but there’s more love in my life than there has ever been, and that’s because Moose helped lead me to it. It can’t be long before I unearth an old tennis ball—there must be a hundred out there under sticks and brush that were too hard to fish out—and when I do, I’ll give it a toss, and think about the dog I had when I was becoming a man. There isn’t ever enough time, but there’s enough love. There’s more than enough.”

In his younger years, Moose even appeared alongside Mayer on the cover of 2013’s album, Paradise Valley. However, Mayer found that Moose did not adjust well to life on tour. “I was like, okay, taking my dog on the road. Dog hates music. Hates music. He thinks it’s thunder. So he’s trembling in the dressing room,” Mayer recounted in a 2017 interview.

John Mayer and Moose on Paradise Valley.

Legacy Recordings

Moose was not fond of Mayer’s guitar playing, often making his dislike clear.

“When he’s home with me, if I pick up a guitar, plug it in and start playing, he does the funniest thing,” Mayer shared, chuckling. “He doesn’t want to offend me. He slowly slinks his two front paws off the couch and just waddles out of the room.”

In contrast, Moose seemed to enjoy the keyboard, particularly when there was space left on Mayer’s lap.

Moose was 14.