Kristen Bell Shares Final Goodbyes to Her Beloved Dog Barbara: 'We Love You'
Kristen Bell and her dog Barbara
Kristen Bell is mourning the death of her dog, Barbara.
The Good Place star, 40, revealed on Friday that she and her family were saying goodbye to their beloved pooch after Barbara fell ill with an intestinal infection.
"Our beautiful @barbarabiscuits got sick this weekend. Vet diagnosed Giardia, and it looked like for a while like Barb was gonna pull through," she began in a series of posts on her Instagram Stories. "Even though Barb is a (gorgeous) fighter, shes gone septic and her lil body doesn't look like it's gonna pull through."
"On our way now to say goodbye," Bell wrote alongside an emotional selfie. "Trying to stay super grateful for the 2 years we got to spoil her like the Queen that she is."
Kristen Bell/instagram
Kristen Bell/instagram
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The actress also thanked The Dog Cafe in Los Angeles for "bringing her into our lives" before sharing some photos from the veterinary clinic.
In one shot, Bell's daughter can be seen petting Barbara as the pup is connected to tubes. Another picture showed the mother of two — who shares Lincoln, 7½, and Delta, 5½, with husband Dax Shepard — face-to-face with her canine companion.
"We love you Barbara," Bell captioned.
On Sunday, Bell expressed her thanks to fans and followers. "Thank you to everyone who has been giving me well wishes and saying sorry for your loss, I appreciate it. Barbara died yesterday. I'm gonna miss her a ton but I'm also really, really grateful that I got to spoil her in her last two years," she said. "I'm so grateful for the dog cafe for bringing her into our life. I had and I continue to have such good experience with adopting senior dogs. I hope by seeing some of Barbara’s antics it inspires other people to open their hearts to older dogs cause I know they’re not the ideal thing to take on and obviously it's sad when they die but it's no comparison to the feeling you have knowing you soiled someone in their twilight years. I will miss Barbara's proclivities so much but I'm so grateful I got to know her and spoil her. I feel really lucky to have been able to do that and I hope that anyone who is considering being open to a senior dog does so because they are just the best."
Giardia is a microscopic parasite that causes a diarrheal disease known as giardiasis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Both humans and animals can contract giardiasis.
Kristen Bell/instagram
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Kristen Bell/instagram
RELATED: Kristen Bell Shares Why She Adopted Her Dog: 'I Wanted a Family Member, Not a Handbag'
Bell has adopted several dogs in the past few years.
In 2017, the Veronica Mars alum opened up about her numerous furry friends, telling PEOPLE, "I’ve certainly been a lazy Mom to my pets, but never a bad Mom."
"I have treated all my dogs like my kids," she quipped. "To me, they’re just kids I didn’t birth."
An animal rescue advocate, Bell also said that she firmly believes in "adopting not buying" when it comes welcoming more pets into her home.
"There are so many wonderful pets in shelters around the country ready and waiting to find a home," she explained. "If they don’t get adopted, they get euthanized. So breeding more animals just doesn’t make sense to me."
