Cody Rhodes said Tuesday that his dog Pharaoh had died, closing a long run in which the white husky was as familiar to wrestling fans as he was to Rhodes' family. Rhodes said Pharaoh had gone to “forever sleep,” and he framed the loss as the end of a companion who had been with him through some of the most visible moments of his career.
That is why the announcement landed so quickly with fans who had seen Pharaoh beside Rhodes for years. Pharaoh appeared during Rhodes' match entrance for AEW All Out 2019, then later in a backstage segment on Monday Night Raw after Rhodes returned to WWE in 2022, making the dog more than a home presence. He became part of the public image, a white husky with a job to do.
Rhodes' own words made that clear. On Instagram, he wrote that Pharaoh howled at the moon, ran into the living room and belly flopd' on the older dogs, patrolled the pool and tore up a plant when a stranger came into the backyard. He said Pharaoh put his nose under his arm in the truck every time and sat outside with him looking at the Texas stars when his world got turned upside down. Rhodes also said Pharaoh was there for, and perhaps protecting, his first daughter, Liberty.
What makes the tribute more complicated is that Rhodes did not describe Pharaoh only as a pet. He called him a “crisis dog,” said huskies need a job, and added that Pharaoh had received the best training and kept most of it. He also said, simply, “My best man.” That is a different kind of language than a casual farewell, and it gives the loss a sharper edge: this was a family animal, but also a dog Rhodes seemed to trust as a guard, a companion and a steady presence when the family needed one.
Rhodes did not say what caused Pharaoh's death, and that is the unanswered part of the story. What he did make clear is that Pharaoh had been part of his public life for years, from a 2018 appearance at the Starrcast convention to the later WWE moments that fans remember. For now, the announcement is both a goodbye and a final update on a figure wrestling viewers had seen often enough to know by sight.
