Heavy A DWTS alum is mourning a sad loss.
Season 14 “Dancing With the Stars” competitor Maria Menounos has shared sad news with her fans. Her dog, Whinnie, died unexpectedly after coming down with a fever.
“RIP my little Whinnie, our little girl who will we dearly miss,” Menounos captioned a video tribute to her dog on June 16, 2023. In her post, Menounos said her poodle’s death was sudden. One day earlier, Menounos took to her Instagram Stories to share that Whinnie wasn’t doing well.
“You were quite the little caretaker. First with our standard poodle Athena who was beaten and broken when got her. You were the one in the pack to welcome her into the family and even became her bestie till her final days. Next when our bichon benjamin went blind and deaf you slept by his side and helped him find his water and his way. Then when your grandma had her brain surgery you stayed in her bed and by her side. Months later you did the same for me when I had my brain surgery – staying on my hospital bed 8 hours at a time refusing potty or food breaks,” she continued.
Menounos rescued Whinnie along with two Lhasa Apso mixes in 2012 after finding six abandoned pups. She worked to rehome the other three.
Here’s what you need to know:
Maria Menounos Received Support From Fans After She Shared the News
Menounos has had a very rough year. The podcast host recently revealed that she battled pancreatic cancer after finding out that the surrogate that she hired had a successful transfer and was pregnant with Menounos’ first child.
“This whole year has been trauma, stress, crisis,” she told People magazine in May 2023. Menounos is now cancer free and awaiting the arrival of her baby girl. However, losing Whinnie is a very hard loss — and fans who know her well know how special the pup was to her.
“Ohhhhh Kev and Maria im so sorry I know how much you both loved that sweet girl,” one person commented on Menounos’ Instagram post.
“So sorry for your loss Maria. They take a piece of our heart with them but remember ‘All dogs go to Heaven,'” someone else wrote.
“I’m so sorry for your loss. What a blessing Whinnie was though,” a third Instagram user added.
Maria Menounos Is a Big Fan of Pet Rescue
Menounos has almost always had multiple dogs and she and her husband Keven Undergaro have adopted quite a few four-legged children over the years.
In an interview with Modern Dog magazine, Menounos shared the advice she would tell people who are skeptical about having a rescue dog.
“I always tell them the myths are false. There are dogs out there that have been dumped because of horrible circumstances… people going into old age homes, or having to downsize… these perfectly wonderful animals that lived on a velvet pillow are now in the big house. I have beautiful babies that are rescues. Each of my dogs is amazing. I have a special bond with them all,” she told the outlet.
In August 2022, she shared a photo of her dogs on Twitter in honor of National Dog Day.
“It’s National Dog Day which is a BIG deal in our house!! We’ve been blessed with so many amazing pups in our life,” she wrote.
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