Kelly Ripa Cries with Husband Mark Consuelos on Live After Death of 17-Year-Old Dog, Chewie: ‘She Gave Us So Much’

“It’s probably one of the toughest things we’ve had to do as a married couple,” Consuelos said

Kelly Ripa and her dog, Chewie. Photo: 

ABC; Kelly Ripa/Instagram

Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos are mourning the loss of their beloved dog, Chewie, who died on Tuesday, Feb. 4, at the age of 17.

The couple opened up Wednesday’s episode of Live with Kelly and Mark by revealing the news of Chewie’s death, Consuelos sharing that the pair had to put down the white and brown Shih Tzu.

“We had a rough day yesterday. We had to say goodbye to Chewie yesterday,” he said, explaining that the pair had a vet come to their New York City apartment for in-home humane euthanasia.

“Chewie had stopped eating for a couple of days and had been eating less and less for the past few weeks. She was extremely dehydrated and had some neurological stuff going down,” Consuelos said. “And you think, ‘Okay, I’m doing the right thing, this is going to be not easy but…’ It’s probably one of the toughest things we’ve had to do as a married couple.”

“I know pet owners at home can understand this,” he added. “It takes a pet owner to understand this kind of loss. It’s grief. It really is grief. But knowing that we did the right thing because it was just going to be really, really, really bad over the next few days for her.”

Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos mourn the loss of their dog, Chewie, on ‘Live with Kelly and Mark’.

ABC

Ripa and Consuelos got Chewie after Ripa first met the dog during an adoption segment on Live. “If it wasn’t for this show, we wouldn’t know Chewie,” Consuelos noted. “She grew up with our kids.”

As he spoke, a visibly upset Ripa wiped away tears, eventually burying her head in her hands. “I know you’re taking it hard, so I’ll do the heavy lifting,” Consuelos told his wife.

But Ripa wanted to speak, apologizing to the audience for her tears.

“I’m really sorry. I thought I got it all out, guys. I really thought I got it all out and I apologize because this is not how I wanted this to go down,” she said.

Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos mourn the loss of their dog, Chewie, on ‘Live with Kelly and Mark’.

ABC

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The Emmy winner went on to share memories of Chewie. “She gave us so much,” Ripa said. “We’re filled with gratitude for this dog. … As each one of our kids left for college and moved out on our own, Chewie remained right there. Our steadfast companion.”

“We’ve been so lucky. We’re very fortunate people in our lives; we’ve not had loss in our lives, a tremendous loss like this. We still have all of our parents. We’re so fortunate,” Ripa said. “I feel very bad crying in front of you when people have — there are much bigger problems in the world, and I understand that. But you have to understand that this dog was so special, and she was such a great girl.”

The couple told Live viewers that they received a wave of support from friends after news of Chewie’s death spread. “It was, dare I say, presidential,” Ripa joked. “People came people like the mail carrier. People came to say goodbye to Chewie because she was such a beloved member of the community. Not just our dog, she was like the neighborhood dog.”

Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos mourn the loss of their dog, Chewie, on ‘Live with Kelly and Mark’.

ABC

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Ripa then revealed the touching thing she did after Chewie’s death.

“She never let us kiss her face, she was very precious about her face. She was not that dog,” the talk show host recalled. “And after she passed away last night, I kissed her 1,000 times on her face. I kissed her nose, I’d never kissed her nose before.”

“I know that she was like somewhere in dog heaven, pissed off,” Ripa joked. “But I didn’t care because it just was so nice to have that.”

Said Consuelos: “You were a great dog mom, she adored you.”

Kelly Ripa and her dog, Chewie.

LIVE with Kelly and Mark/Instagram

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Chewie was one of two dogs in the Consuelos family. The Live hosts are also pet parents to Lena, a Maltese/Shih Tzu mix that Ripa adopted in 2020.

Over the past few weeks on Live, Ripa and Consuelos have updated viewers on Chewie’s health. They explained that the ailing dog could no longer walk and had stopped acting like herself.

“We’re going to get through this,” Consuelos told a crying Ripa on Wednesday. “All together, we’re going to get through it.”