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“This isn’t going to be easy, but it’s probably one of the toughest things we’ve had to do as a married couple,” Consuelos said. “Thank God we haven’t had any tragedy befall us like that, but she was just a great part of our life.”
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos are grieving the loss of a beloved furry family member.
During the latest episode of Live, the couple tearfully announced the death of their 17-year-old dog, Chewie.
Consuelos kicked off Wednesday’s show by telling the audience that the couple endured a “rough day” over the last 24 hours, as they “had to say goodbye to Chewie,” after previously revealing in recent weeks that the family pet’s health had declined.
“Chewie had stopped eating for a couple days and had been eating less and less for the past few weeks. She was extremely dehydrated and had some neurological stuff going on. You think, okay, I’m doing the right thing. This isn’t going to be easy, but it’s probably one of the toughest things we’ve had to do as a married couple,” Consuelos said. “Thank God we haven’t had any tragedy befall us like that, but she was just a great part of our life.”
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While Ripa remained mostly silent as her husband spoke, she broke down in tears after Consuelos recalled the way his wife “adopted [Chewie] on this show” many years ago, and cherished the fact that Chewie “grew up with our kids” in the process.
“I’m really sorry. I thought I got it all out, guys. I really thought I got it all out, and I apologize because I did not. This is not how I wanted this to go down. God, she gave us so much,” Ripa said when she finally spoke to the audience. “We’re filled with gratitude for this dog. I apologize, I’m so sorry. She gave us so much. As each one of our kids left for college and then moved out on their own, Chewie remained right there like our steadfast companion.”
Ripa also took the a moment to express her gratitude over the fact that she and Consuelos haven’t had “tremendous loss” in their lives up to this point, and admitted she felt guilty crying when “there are much bigger problems in the world,” but went on to say that Chewie “was so special and she was such a good girl.”
Recalling Chewie’s final moments, Ripa’s tears turned to laughter describing the pup’s “farewell procession” at the pair’s New York City home — “Dare I say, presidential” — in that everyone from friends to the mail carrier “came to say goodbye to Chewie” before she died.
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“She was very much like a cat, you know, in a lot of ways. She pet you when she wanted affection,” Ripa said, before crying once again as she revealed her final moments with Chewie. “She never let us kiss her face. She was very precious about her face. She was not that dog. And, after she passed away last night, I kissed her a thousand times on the face, I kissed her nose. I’d never kissed her nose before. And I know that she was like, somewhere in dog heaven, pissed! But, I didn’t care because it was just so nice to have that.”
Consuelos then continued on with the rest of the show, telling his wife and the crew: “We’re going to get through it all together.”
In addition to Chewie, who was set to turn 18 in May, the family also has another dog, 4-year-old Lena, whom the pair also regularly discuss on their talk show.
Live with Kelly and Mark airs weekdays in syndication.
