Neil Patrick Harris is mourning the “huge loss” of a beloved furry family member.
The 51-year-old Emmy Award winner announced the death of Eleanor ‘Ella’ Menopee, his family’s 4-year-old golden retriever, at his Wonderful Newsletter after ‘most bizarre accident’ happened while dog was with babysitter.
He explained that his friend “found her in the front yard, lying on the grass” after “a tree branch got caught in her collar and as he tried to free her, she rolled on the ground and the branch got wrapped around her neck.”
“She is, was, our golden retriever,” Harris wrote. “Her full name was Eleanor Menopee Burtka-Harris, her first name honoring David’s maternal grandmother (Eleanor Zajas) and her middle name chosen by my witty father who enjoyed the comedy of combining it with her nickname (say Ella Menopee out loud, it’s brilliant).”
He recalled acquiring Ella as a puppy in 2020, A Christmas present from him and his husband David Burtka to their twins Gideon and Harper, now 13.
Neil Patrick Harris announced the death of his family’s 4-year-old golden retriever Eleanor “Ella” Menopee in his Wondercade newsletter after “the most bizarre accident” occurred while the dog was with her babysitter.
He explained that his friend “found her in the front yard, lying on the grass” after “a tree branch had somehow gotten caught on her collar, and in trying to free it, it rolled across the ground and wrapped around her neck.”
“It was a morning I’ll never forget. We were almost living in a Norman Rockwell painting,” Harris added. “I’ve never felt happier.”
Harris wrote of Ella: “She was barely four years old. She was absolutely full of life. We’ve had dogs die before, but they were old, blind and incontinent, so for them it was just a matter of time. Sad, yes, but inevitable.
“But Ella was so young. She lived to play… She never stopped smiling. And now she’s gone. Just like that,” he continued.
“It was the strangest accident ever. Strangulation? A fallen tree branch? I’ve never heard of anything like that in my life.”
“She roamed freely and confidently around the property every day, as all of our dogs do. They are farm dogs,” Harris wrote. “So how could this happen? Why did it happen? If I was home, could I have stopped it from happening? I guess these are pointless questions.
“It just happened. Sometimes things just happen. And I guess the job now is to process it as authentically and effectively as possible. And then somehow move on. There’s really no other option; trying to make sense of it somehow, well, it’s pointless. It’s pointless,” he added.
Harris continued: “The best thing I can do is feel, ideally without judgment, and then let those feelings pass. And try to model grieving in an effective way for my family.”
The How I Met Your Mother alum said Burtka, 49, whom he married in 2014, is “understandably very upset,” adding, “Out of our four amazing dogs, Ella was his ‘favorite.'”
“He was the one who took her out every morning, not me,” Harris added. “I’m not sure what to say to him, I just try to give him space to cry and breathe, to hold him when he cries.
“She was so young. She lived to play… She never stopped smiling. And now she’s gone. Just like that,” he continued.
Harris recalled receiving Ella as a puppy in 2020, a Christmas gift from him and his husband David Burtka to their twins Gideon and Harper, now 13.
She previously celebrated the 20th anniversary of her first date with Burtka in April.
“And then there are our children. I have no idea what to say to them or how they will react.”
Harris continued: “We’ll be picking them up from camp on Tuesday, which will be the day before you read this, but as I write this they still don’t know anything. Harper and Gideon loved Ella deeply.”
The family also shares a terrier mix, Gidget, a Chihuahua/French bulldog mix, Spike, and a French bulldog, Chunk.
Harris previously celebrated the 20th anniversary of her first date with Burtka in April.
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