Gene and Betsy Hackman with their beloved dogs

Poignant new details about Oscar Winning actor Gene Hackman’s dogs have been revealed – and how they led paramedics to the actor’s body after the alarm was raised

Actor Gene Hackman’s dogs heartbreakingly led paramedics to the actor’s body in a final act of loyalty, it’s been revealed.

Bear, a German Shepherd, and Nikita, an Akita-shepherd mix, kept running up and barking at the crew attending the scene, before running off. They thought the dogs wanted to play before realising they were leading them to the mudroom where Hackman’s body lay.

Earlier paramedics had found Betsy’s body but had spent 30minutes searching the house to no avail until the dogs’ intervention.

“They realized (the dog) was trying to say, ‘Hey, come over here! Come over here!’” Santa Fe Fire Chief Brian Moya told USA Today. Hackman was found in the mudroom which was in the far end of the house. A back door was propped open, allowing the dogs to go in and out.

It comes as the surviving dogs are currently in a state of “limbo” and cannot be rehomed until the couple’s wills have been read. They are presently residing at a dog boarding facility in Santa Fe, New Mexico, after being rescued from the couple’s home.

Gene Hackman was a massive dog lover ( 
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They will remain there indefinitely until it becomes clear what provisions – if any – Hackman made for the dogs following his death. It is yet to be determined whether any of Hackman’s family will adopt the dogs, or if they will find a new home with another family.