Jon Stewart’s raw grief over the death of his dog, Dipper, reveals a universal truth: when it comes to animals, we humans are the same

Late night comedy is not designed to make you cry.

But I dare anyone to watch the end of Monday’s “The Daily Show” without a box of Kleenex on hand. Jon Stewart was behind the anchor desk. It was his third show back during this second tour of duty on the political satire.

“I wanted to tell you a little bit of a story,” he said, starting the final segment.

Viewers were likely expecting a story that ridiculed Donald Trump or Joe Biden. The stories Mr. Stewart tells are rarely personal or emotional. This one was both.

It was about 12 years ago. His children, Maggie Rose, then six, and Nathan Thomas, then seven, wanted to raise money for Animal Haven, a no-kill shelter in New York City. So a plan was hatched: the kids would bake cupcakes and sell them outside the shelter with dad, where staffers would also bring out “this one-ish-year-old brindle pit bull who —”

Stewart suddenly trailed off and banged his fist on the desk. He swore and glanced off set in disbelief, as if he promised himself to get through this story without breaking down right off the jump.

He continued, haltingly, choking back tears.

“(The dog had been) hit by a car in Brooklyn and lost his right leg.”

Stewart’s jester smirk was now lost in anguish. The audience was in a hush.

“They put the dog in my lap. And, ah, we left that day feeling really good we’d helped this great organization. And we also left with this one-ish-year-old brindle pit bull. We called him Dipper. And in a world of good boys, he was the best.”

Overcome with emotion, and referring to Dipper in the past tense, it was clear Stewart was not ending the show so much as saying goodbye to his best friend.

“Dipper passed away yesterday,” he said. “He was ready. He was tired. But I wasn’t. But, boy, my wish for you is one day you find that dog — that one dog that just is the best.”

I try to keep things light around here to counterprogram the bad news that never lets up. But I devote this dispatch to Jon’s devotion to Dipper because Monday was such an achingly tender moment for late night comedy.

In an age of performative outrage, this was authentic grief. Amid the deep fakes, this was painfully real. At a time of casual deception, Stewart shared his private sorrow on public airwaves. It was jarringly unexpected, like watching a mechanic slide out from under a Buick to sing a sad song in perfect pitch.

Stewart, like most comedians, wears a suit of armour to the job. He cracks wise and wields a lethal sword. But on Monday, for nearly four minutes, he removed the helmet and the chain mail and the breastplate to reveal a broken heart.

At one point, he held the ends of his black pen in both hands and stared down, as if the pen might write answers. At another point, his mouth rested on his hand as he glanced into the middle distance with moist eyes like he was having an out-of-body experience.

Jon Stewart is always in control. On Monday, he was lost and it was moving.

Wouldn’t this planet be a better place if everyone loved a pet? Dipper was always with Jon. He was part of “the OG Daily Show Dog Crew.” He went to work with his owner. He waited patiently for Jon to get through meetings and filming. This three-legged bundle of joy met “actors and authors and presidents and kings.”

“And he did what the Taliban could not do, which is put a scare on Malala Yousafzai,” Stewart quipped, showing a clip in which the Pakistani activist and Nobel Prize laureate retreated with fear as Dipper approached her in a corridor before a guest appearance.

The world has never felt more divided. But there are still experiences that unite. The crushing pain that comes after losing a pet transcends our differences. We may bicker over politics. We may get drawn into ridiculous culture wars. But we humans mourn our animals in the exact same way. The bond with them in life is spiritual. This makes the loss profound. When a pet dies, the emotional bruising takes a long time to fade. But it never really goes away.

My first two cats still come to me in occasional dreams.

Jon Stewart makes us laugh. On Monday, he made us cry.

He reminded us about what really matters in the small picture.

We can’t fix all the vexing problems in this crazy and turbulent world. But we can love an animal unconditionally and carve out joy and peace in our worlds.

“Here’s your moment of Zen,” Stewart said, closing the show.

It was a clip from a homemade video shot in a wintry field. You can hear his voice off camera. In a sweet, staccato whisper, he encourages his best friend to get a snowball.

Stewart is the director. All that matters in this moment is his dog.

Dipper wags his tail, prances and sprints around with gleeful abandon.

Under an overcast sky, he is overjoyed to be the star in Jon’s life.