Tom Hanks has been left devastated by the death of his dog.

The 'Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close' star took to his WhoSay page yesterday to share a photograph of his beloved German Shepherd Monty and pay tribute to the pooch.

He wrote: "Monty. Deep brown eyes, noble demeanor, finest dog ever. A sad day. Goodbye Big Boy. Hanx (sic)"

Fans were quick to rush to comfort Tom, with one user writing: "One of the hardest things in life is losing a beloved pet. I am sorry for the loss of Monty, he was a great dog. One day you will be re-united with him, but until then he'll be always be with you in your heart and in your thoughts. God Bless, Mr. Hanks."

Another fan encouraged Tom to get a new dog as soon as possible to help him get over his loss, writing "Great looking dog. Thanks for sharing his photo! The best way to honor him, I've read, is to get another dog (sic)"

Tom has spoken about Monty in the past.

In 2009 he considered moving to a new home in California because his home became infested with a terrible stink after a skunk attacked Monty and his other German Shepherd.

Tom said: "They say the only way to get rid of skunk smell is tomato juice. This is a lie. We have gone through vats and vats of tomato juice. It's sticky, it's like hair gel when the dogs leap up on you and spread the skunk goo on top of you.

"I put the clothes in the dirty clothes hamper. I've got to burn the clothes. We've gotta move out because it smells so bad. We've got to move out of our house because our dogs got skunked!"