Kelly Ripa Shares Sad Family Update on ‘Live With Kelly and Mark’

Kelly Ripa and her family have been dealing with a sick dog. Luckily, things turned around a bit for their fur-baby of 17 years. According to PEOPLE, on the Jan. 29 episode of Live with Kelly and Mark, Ripa shared an update on her family’s beloved dog, Chewie, who’s health has been deteriorating. But on the night before the show, Ripa revealed the dog seemed her usual perky self.

“Last night, she did something extraordinary, which she hasn’t done in weeks,” Ripa explained. “And it’s going to sound like not a big deal, but if you’re a pet owner, you know, you know.”

She continued, “She lifted her own crotch — you understand what I’m saying, this is a massive thing — she has not done that in weeks. She started self-cleaning, and then she curled up next to me and cuddled and started doing her thing where she edges me off the bed little by little all night, so I wind up sort of falling off the bed. But I didn’t care because it had been so long that she acted like herself.”

Ripa’s husband and co-host, Mark Consuelos, said he loves every moment with their dog, even bathroom breaks, “because I know it’s fleeting.” Chewie has been acting less herself, appearing lethargic, distant, and disoriented. 

On Jan. 14, Ripa asked for help on how to deal with the impending grief of losing her dog, admitting she grew frustration that Chewie couldn’t communicate with her human family about what she wanted or needed. She recalled asking the dog, “From one old girl to another, tell me what to do.”

Ripa and Consuelos, who both previously starred on soap operas, began dating in 1995 after meeting on the set of All My Children. They wed in 1996 via an elopement and have been one of Hollywood’s strongest couples.