Norman Reedus honors “Walking Dead” dog: “Best TV buddy”

Seven, the dog who played Daryl Dixon’s four-legged companion in “The Walking Dead,” has died.

AMC confirmed the canine actor’s death on the show’s Instagram page on Thursday: “Rest in peace Seven. #TWD’s best boy,” read the post, which included pictures of the Belgian Malinois. On X, formerly Twitter, the network’s announcement appeared, showing a photo of the very good boy with Melissa McBride, while Carol Peletier said: “All dogs go to heaven. Rest in peace Seven.”

AMC representatives did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment on Friday.

Norman Reedus, who played Daryl in the zombie drama, paid tribute to the deceased pup in a series of photos posted on his Instagram stories and grid.

“Will miss you seven times,” he wrote alongside a broken heart emoji. “Best TV buddy ever.”

The Boondock Saints and Blade II actor lobbied for his character to get a dog in the TV adaptation of the comic book series by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard. That finally happened in season 9 of the 11-season post-apocalyptic horror drama. Dog, who first appeared on the show in 2018, was the pet of Reaper’s second-in-command Leah Shaw (Lynn Collins) and was later adopted by Daryl after her disappearance. Dog is later given to Daryl’s adopted niece Judith Grimes (Cailey Fleming), who promises to look after him while Daryl goes in search of Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Michonne (Danai Gurira).

Reedus raved about working with the canine actor, telling ComicBook.com in 2018 that Seven’s different approach to a particular scene they worked on together ultimately made it “so much better.”

“He’ll probably run the show. It’s great! I love it. He loves me too,” Reedus said at the time.

Commenting on Reedus’ Instagram tribute to Seven, former co-star Collins wrote, “Oh noooo,” adding a crying face emoji.

Other “Walking Dead” stars such as Angel Theory and Jeffrey Dean Morgan also spoke out.

“Rest in peace Seven,” Theory wrote on Instagram Stories, sharing a February 2022 post of her petting Seven. “You brought a smile to everyone on and off set. The most professional fur baby I’ve ever worked with! We will truly miss you Bud. We all love you and thank you for the beautiful memories we shared with you #ForeverAGoodBoy”

Morgan responded to AMC’s tweet announcing Seven’s death with three heart emojis.

Seven also appeared in the thriller comedy Bitch (2017) and the family film Ghost Dog (2015).