A dog trainer and globetrotting comedian has been remembered as a beloved, larger-than-life figure following his tragic sudden death.
Tony Knight, 54, was at the ‘Music and Cars’ festival in Lavaur, southern France, when a large tree branch fell on him and six other festival-goers. He was the only casualty.
The Englishman had just finished paying off a house in nearby Bouillac, where he planned to settle with his Australian partner of 15 years, Hayley Wright.
Ms Wright’s sister Joanna Allen revealed Mr Knight was not with his partner at the festival and had sent her a text with an inside joke moments before the accident.
The time difference meant Ms Wright saw the message as she was about to fall asleep and did not have a chance to respond.
Mr Knight was a world-famous ‘dog listener’ and even helped train the dogs of stars including Molly Meldrum, Sonia Kruger and the Dubai Royal Family.
“He was fit, he was passionate, he was charismatic and he was funny. He was a good guy,” Allen told Daily Mail Australia.
Before moving to France, he lived in Australia for several years, where he performed regular stand-up comedy shows in Victoria and expanded his dog training business online.
Tributes have poured in for world-renowned dog trainer Tony Knight (pictured) after he was tragically killed by a falling branch at a French music festival last month.
Ms Allen said her heartbroken sister and Mr Knight were like “two peas in a pod” and often travelled around Europe together in search of summer.
Ms Wright has now had to travel to the home they intended to share to arrange his funeral and a wake with his family in the UK.
“I think the hardest part will be his return to the farm, because he’s been there four years and has been pretty helpful around the place,” Allen said.
‘Our mother is now at home, on the farm where she lives, and she says that he is everywhere… wherever you go, there is Tony.’
Ms Allen also recalled the sudden shock she felt on learning that the lively Mr Knight had suddenly died, saying: “All her hope vanished at that moment.”
“Mom called me and said, ‘Tony’s been murdered.’ You can’t understand it. What do you mean by ‘killed’? How could he have been murdered?” she said.
“But that’s the word, he’s dead and we’ll never see him again. It’s very hard.”
Mr. Knight had just begun living the life he dreamed of, working with dogs while traveling the world and owning a home in a picturesque French village, Allen said.
“If he had an idea, he never believed he couldn’t do it and just went after it.”
The Englishman had just finished paying off his house in a nearby village in France, where he intended to live with his devastated Australian partner of 15 years, Hayley Wright (both pictured).
Mr Knight was remembered as a larger-than-life figure who wanted to try his hand at everything, even taking up stand-up comedy, which earned him a regular show in Ballarat.
Mrs Allen fondly recalled Mr Knight as the family joker at Christmas and often stoking the rivalry between the English and Australians in backyard cricket.
Ms. Allen launched a GoFundMe earlier this week to help support her sister, who has already raised more than $4,600.
“(My sister is) organizing a funeral, covering hospital expenses, meeting with police detectives, doctors and the mayor, visiting the accident site and sorting out Tony’s estate,” the fundraising page reads.
‘All this while experiencing an enormous amount of pain and disbelief in a foreign country.
‘Tony, we will love and miss you forever, life will never be the same but we will wrap our arms around your beloved Hayley.’
Lavaur Mayor Bernard Carayon told the media that “such a dramatic event had never happened in our city.”
“I have expressed our deepest sympathy to the family at this difficult time,” he said.