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Neil Patrick mourns the loss of his beloved dog Ella after a tragic “freak accident”

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Neil Patrick Harris has revealed that his family has suffered a devastating loss of a pet in recent days.

Harris wrote about it yesterday in his weekly “Wondercade” newsletter to his subscribers. He uses the newsletter to inform his followers about things he enjoys or products he recommends, but he added a more personal entry to this week’s mailing.

He spoke about the sudden and unexpected death of his four-year-old Golden Retriever, Eleanor “Ella” Menopee. The dog was being cared for by a dog sitter when an unforeseen accident led to her death.

It’s unclear when exactly this happened, but Harris posted a photo of himself with all of his dogs, including Ella, just a few weeks ago for the Fourth of July.

The friend found Ella “in the front yard, lying on the grass” after “a branch somehow got caught in her collar, and as she tried to free it, she rolled over on the ground and the branch wrapped itself around her neck.”

A Christmas present for his children

Harris and her husband David Burtka purchased Ella in 2020 as a Christmas present for their twins Gideon and Harper (now 13 years old).

“Ella is and was our Golden Retriever,” wrote the actor.

“She was barely four years old. She was bursting with life. We’ve had dogs die before, but they were old and blind and incontinent, so for her 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. It was the worst accident of all. Self-strangulation? By a felled branch?? I’ve never heard of such a thing in my life,” he continued.

“Ella was running around the property every day, free and confident – like all our dogs. They’re farm dogs,” Harris said. “So how could this happen? Why did it happen? If I had been home, could I have prevented it? Pointless questions, I guess.”

“It just happened. Sometimes things just happen. And I think the work now is to process it as authentically and effectively as possible. And then somehow move on. There’s really no other way – to try to somehow make sense of it, well, it doesn’t make sense. It’s pointless,” he added.

Husband David Burtka

The family has three other dogs: a terrier mix named Gidget, a Chihuahua-French bulldog mix named Spike, and a French bulldog named Chunk.

Harris said Burtka was especially upset because Ella was his favorite and he took her for walks every morning.

“I don’t know exactly what to say to him. I’m just trying to give him space to grieve and breathe and hold him when he cries.”

Harris said that at the time of writing, they had not yet informed their children who were at summer camp, but they would find out before the newsletter was sent out.

“And then there are our children. I have absolutely no idea what to say to the children or how they will react.

“We’re picking her up from camp on Tuesday, the day before you read this, but as I write this, they still don’t know anything. Harper and Gideon loved Ella very much.”

Jim Sikking

Earlier this week, Harris wrote about the death of fellow actor Jim Sikking.

Sikking played Harris’ father in Doogie Howser MDthe late 80s sitcom that made Harris famous as a teenage doctor. Sikking died last Sunday at the age of 90 from the effects of dementia.

Harris wrote on Instagram: “Jim Sikking played my father in Doogie Howser, M.D. and was one of the kindest, wisest, funniest and most generous people I have ever known. A true professional. He treated everyone with respect, taught me countless lessons, but always had a mischievous spark in his eye. It was an absolute honor to be his son. My condolences to his real family on their loss.”

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