Walking Dead star Norman Reedus paid tribute to animal actor Seven, the dog, who appeared with him in the zombie-apocalyptic AMC television drama based on the graphic novel.
The late Belgian Malinois's character on the show was called Dog, and he was the companion to Reedus's character Daryl Dixon.
Daryl is featured in the fifth spinoff series from the Walking Dead franchise, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon.
Upon hearing of Seven's passing, Reedus posted images of him with his canine companion on set on his Instagram stories and wrote:
"Gonna miss u seven. [broken heart emjo]"
"Best tv buddy ever"
@bigbaldhead/Instagram
Here are two more screenshots from Reedus's Instagram story.
@bigbaldhead/Instagram
@bigbaldhead/Instagram
The show's official Instagram account first announced the sad news of Seven passing and wrote:
"Rest in peace, Seven. #TWD's best boy."
EW mentioned Reedus had long campaigned for his character to have a dog companion, which didn't happen until season nine when Daryl took in Dog after his original owner and Daryl's love interest Leah left him.
Fans of the show went into mourning.
In 2018, Reedus raved about Seven's professionalism.
He told Comicbook about his first time working with a dog on set and how excited he was.
"We just did a scene the other day that ended up being the opposite of what it was supposed to be because the dog just wanted to do something else, and it came out so much better," said Reedus, adding:
"He'll probably be running the show. It's great! I love it. He loves me, too."
The second season of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon is set to premiere on September 29, 2024.
Seven will surely be missed.
