Heartbroken. Jesse Tyler Ferguson is mourning the unexpected loss of a dedicated and beloved Modern Family costar, Beatrice the French bulldog.
The Emmy nominee, 44, took to Twitter on Sunday, March 15, to pay tribute to the pup shortly after the longtime ABC sitcom wrapped its final episode in February. “Rest in Peace sweet Beatrice. We love you so much,” he wrote beside a photo of himself and his partner, Justin Mikita. Beatrice sat perched on a director’s chair on the Modern Family set in between the happy couple.
Beatrice the bulldog played the trusty sidekick of Jay Pritchett (Ed O’Neill) ever since the fourth season of the family comedy, after taking over for a previous pooch. While Jay was reluctant to welcome the furry friend into his family at first, he grew more and more fond of the dog as the series continued, making Jay’s wife Gloria (Sofia Vergara) compete for his affection.
Though his character may have been wary of the dog at first, O’Neill, 73, had an instant connection with the pet. Beatrice’s owners, Guin and Steve Solomon, told Bodie on the Road in 2017 that the actor was “in love” with the little Frenchie.
“It’s very easy working with him because he brings Beatrice treats, like popcorn, and always looks out for her,” the pair told the publication. “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!”‘
The cast and crew of Modern Family — Beatrice included — has become a tight-knit family after working together for 11 seasons. As the actors prepare to leave the Pritchetts behind once and for all, Ferguson revealed just how emotional his longtime costars felt on their final shoot.
“It was a lot more profound and heartbreaking than I expected it to be,” he told Us Weekly exclusively earlier this month. “I think we all cried a lot harder than we thought we would.”
Though his days playing Mitchell Pritchett have come to an end, the Montana native told Us that he’ll always have a little something from the set to remember the character by.
“I took, like, a few art pieces that were on the wall that a lot of people might not notice, but I looked at every day,” Ferguson said.
Modern Family‘s series finale airs on ABC on April 8 at 9 p.m. ET.
