Pence family’s famous rabbit Marlon Bundo dies

Former Vice President Mike Pence’s famous family rabbit, Marlon Bundo, has died, reports The Washington Post.

The former BOTUS (Bunny of the United States) was adopted by Charlotte Pence Bond, Pence’s daughter, and joined the family in Washington when Pence was elected. In a tribute to Bundo on Instagram, Pence Bond wrote that the rabbit “came into our lives at just the moment we needed you most.”

As the Post writes, the bunny became an “unlikely gay rights figure” after Pence Bond authored several children’s books starring the pet, and Last Week Tonight host John Oliver released a parody book meant to skewer Pence’s opposition to gay rights. In Oliver’s version, Bundo is a “boy bunny who falls in love with another boy bunny.”

Former second lady Karen Pence, who illustrated the non-parody versions of the Bundo-inspired books, wrote a tribute to the black-and-white bunny on Twitter, pledging “we will never forget him.”