Kelly Ripa Admits She's 'Still Not Over' the Death of Her Dog Chewie as Mark Consuelos Assures Her 'It's Very Normal'

Mar. 15, 2025

Kelly Ripa and her late dog Chewie.Photo:Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty; Kelly Ripa/Instagram

Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty; Kelly Ripa/Instagram

Kelly RipaandMark Consuelosare still mourning the death of their beloved dog, Chewie.

On Monday, Feb. 10’s episode ofLive with Kelly and Mark,the couple spoke candidly about still feeling heartbroken about the loss of their 17-year-old pup, who they previously saiddied on Tuesday at the age of 17after herhealth began deteriorating.

As they were discussing a Super Bowl ad forFarmer’s Dog foodthat showed the heartwarming bond between a girl and her dog, Ripa, 54, said that she would have been too emotional to even watch the commercial.

“I didn’t see any of the commercial and I’m glad I didn’t,” Ripa said, getting emotional, “because I probably would have cried because I’m still not… I won’t get into it… I’m still not over the loss of Chewie, so everything becomes Chewie again.”

“But that’s okay because we’ve met so many people since last week that…went [through] the same thing, and it’s very normal,” Consuelos, 53, said. “The only way to get over it is to get through it, I guess.”

“But they’re still not over it,” Ripa continued, explaining the grieving process that so many pet owners go through.

“They’re not over it,” her husband replied. “But it’ll get better, I promise.”

Kelly Ripa and her dogs.Kelly Ripa/Instagram

Kelly Ripa/Instagram

The couple first shared the news of their Shih Tzu’s death on Wednesday, Feb. 5 during their episode ofLive with Kelly and Marka

“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, before opening up about the dog’s illnesses that had taken hold over the last days of her time. “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.”

Ripa’s late dog Chewie.Kelly Ripa/Instagram

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

Emmy winner Ripa went on to share memories of Chewie, telling the viewers that “she gave us so much.”

“We’re filled with gratitude for this dog. … As each one of our kids left for college and moved out on [their] own, Chewie remained right there. Our steadfast companion,” she continued.

“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.”

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

source: people.com