Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos have two rescue dogs together: Lena, a black four-year-old Maltese-Shih Tzu, and Chewie, a golden Maltese that’s an impressive 18 years old. On their show Live with Kelly and Mark, they started a light-hearted chat about their dogs not being fans of their winter wardrobe. Then it segwayed into a serious discussion about euthanasing elderly dogs – With Ripa clearly getting emotional by the end of it.
With freezing weather in New York, the couple wanted their fur babies protected from the elements… But both pups refuse to move in their winter coats, resulting in being carried to where they can have a bathroom break. And it coincidentally happened to be “National Dress Up Your Pet Day.”
They Kelly starts to get a bit serious as she shifts to topic to their 18-year-old pup, saying “Let me just say this – we are at a stage in our lives with Chewe, where Mark and I are now trying to decide …. Dogs can’t speak, and she’s at a stage in her life where she’s…” Then Mark finishes her thought, “She’s slowing down.” She continues with a story about how Chewie usually turns into dragon at bathtime, but now just puts her head down. Kelly then says, “I just … and I was looking at her like, ‘Tell me what to do. Tell me! Tell me!’ People are like, ‘No, you’ll know.’ But you don’t. Nobody knows. You don’t know” and “…just wish I knew what to do.”
Kelly doesn’t explicitly mention euthanasia, but the audience and their Instagram followers heard it loud-and-clear. Sadly, this is a decision most pet parents have already or will have to make one day.
Many of their Instagram followers were quick to share their sympathies, experiences, and advice in the comments.
For another celebrity pet parent sharing the heartache of having an elderly pup: Kacey Musgraves opens up about “pre-grieving” during her rescue dog’s final days.