Kelly Ripa ‘not ready to let go’ as she reflects on ‘extremely painful’ loss for family

Kelly Ripa is still struggling with the “painful” loss of her beloved family dog, Chewie.

The LIVE with Kelly and Mark star admitted she’s “not ready” to accept the loss of their adorable Shih Tzu, who was put to sleep earlier this month after suffering for weeks.

While Kelly, 54, confessed that she and her family, including her husband Mark Consuelos, 53, and their three kids Michael, 27, Lola, 23, and Joaquin, 21, still “feel lost”, she couldn’t put off paying tribute to Chewie any longer.

Sharing a compilation video of family moments with Chewie over the years, which you can watch above, Kelly penned a heartbreaking message about the beloved dog.

“I’ve been avoiding posting this because it somehow makes it real and I’m not quite ready to let go,” she began.

“It’s been extremely painful to lose our beloved Chewie. We ache for her every single day. We still look for her and call to her and frankly feel lost. We are so grateful for the almost 18 years we had with this special lady. 

“She grew up with our kids and remained at our sides when each left the nest. She waited by the front door to welcome her siblings back home when they returned for visits. She was our stoic constant companion.”

Kelly continued: “We know she is running free now somewhere warm and sunny, unburdened by her failing body. We were the luckiest family to have loved and been loved by Chewie. 

“Thank you to The North Shore Animal League for blessing us with our fabulous girl. Finally, thank you to everyone for the beautiful messages from all of you who knew or felt like you knew Chewie.”

She concluded: “Our hearts may be broken, but are filled with the memories of joy Chewie gave us.”

On the Wednesday, February 5 installment of LIVE with Kelly & Mark, the couple and co-hosts announced that they had said goodbye to Chewie.

Mark was the first to address news of Chewie’s passing, telling their LIVE audience that they had “a rough night yesterday, rough day yesterday”.

“We had to say goodbye to Chewie yesterday,” he then shared, before reflecting on their decision with their veterinarian to put Chewie, who was 17 and seemingly increasingly sick, to sleep.

Mark explained: “Chewie had stopped eating for a couple of days and had been eating less and less for the past few weeks, was extremely dehydrated, and has neurological stuff going down.”

He also noted that as much as you know you are doing the right thing by letting them rest, it’s “not easy.”

“It’s probably one of the toughest things that we have had to do as a married couple,” he added, before emphasizing: “I mean thank God that we haven’t had any tragedy befall us like that, but she was just a great part of our life.”

While he shared the news, Kelly sat next to him quiet and emotional. “I know you have taken it hard so I’ll do the heavy lifting today,” Mark offered.

Kelly replied, through tears: “I know 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.”

See more photos of Kelly and her family’s beloved dog Chewie below…