Jesse Tyler Ferguson is mourning the loss of his canine co-star.
On Sunday, news broke that Beatrice the Frenchie, who played Stella on Modern Family, had passed away. According to The Blast, the beloved pup died shortly after the fan-favorite ABC comedy wrapped its final episode on February 21.
Known as Jay Pritchett’s (Ed O’Neill) family pet, Stella joined the Modern Family cast back in season 2 when the patriarch reluctantly got a dog and hilariously grew to love her more than his wife Gloria (Sofia Vergara). The role was initially played by another adorable canine until Beatrice took over in season 4.
After learning of Beatrice’s passing, Jesse took to social media to express his condolences. “Rest In Peace sweet Beatrice,” he shared on Twitter, along with a photograph of him and his husband Justin Mikita with the precious scene-stealer on the Modern Family set. “We love you so much.”
Just three weeks ago, Beatrice got a sweet shout-out on the show’s Instagram account in honor of National Pet Day. The post read, “Stellaaaaa, we love you! Happy #NationalPetDay.”
With the Modern Family series finale less than one month away, Jesse explained that it’s been difficult to come to terms with the Emmy-winning sitcom ending after its epic 11-year run.
“It’s a very emotional. I’m open to any advice you give me because I’m really not dealing with it in a great way,” he told Sean Hayes during his visit to The Ellen DeGeneres Show back in February. “I think I’m, like, repressing my feelings about it. It sneaks up in weird ways…I mean, I adore [the cast] so much. It’s really, really sad.”
Ahead of the cast’s last day of filming, the Broadway star shared a heartwarming message to fans via social media, where he can be seen sitting in the middle of an empty set.
“‘Never say goodbye because goodbye means going away and going away means forgetting.’ -J.M. Barrie,” Jesse wrote. “Tomorrow is the last day of shooting @abcmodernfam. Thank you to all of our fans. It’s been a great 11 years & 250 episodes.”