RIP to Beatrice, Modern Family's Beloved Dog Actor

I regret to inform you of the passing of a very good animal actor and even better dog. Beatrice, who played Stella on the show Modern Family, died suddenly last week, mere days after the show’s final episode was taped.

The news of Beatrice’s passing came as a shock to both her TV family and Good Dog Animals, the agency that represented her. “My Ride Or Die. Always. #Beatrice,” one trainer wrote on Instagram, according to The Blast.

Beatrice first appeared on the show in season 4 as the dog of Ed O’Neill’s character, Jay Pritchett, after she replaced another French Bulldog called Brigitte.

While Pritchett loved Stella on the show, O’Neill also grew to love Beatrice in real life. As Beatrice’s people, Guin and Steve Solomon, told the blog Bodie on the Road in 2017:

“Ed O’Neill is in love with her! It’s very easy working with him because he brings Beatrice treats like popcorn and always looks out for her—like we’ll be doing scenes in the backyard by the pool and in between takes he’ll say, ‘Would you please get Beatrice an umbrella, she’s in the sun!’”

On set, Beatrice had her own dressing room in the form of a small crate where she could “rest and relax,” Guin said.

“We always put Stella in her crate, otherwise she’d be running around the set and then be panting wildly for her scene and we’d have to take extra time to calm her down. Of course the crew loves to play with her when she’s out and about because she’s so fun and clowny. She really is one of the family!”

RIP, Stella. I hope your passing was swift and peaceful, and caused by anything other than coronavirus.