Losing a pet can feel like losing the one soul who never left your side. For Ariel Winter, that heartbreak is now painfully real. The “Modern Family” star is mourning the loss of her beloved rescue dog, Chloe. In a deeply personal message, Winter revealed that Chloe died on the 6th after what she described as a sudden and aggressive form of cancer.
The actress admitted she struggled to even say the words out loud, sharing that the grief felt so overwhelming she avoided speaking about it, even in therapy.
A Rescue That Became a Lifelong Bond
For Winter, Chloe was not just a pet. She was family.
“It’s taken me a bit for me to share this because I truly can’t handle the fact that I’ve lost her,” Winter wrote. “I haven’t even wanted to talk about it with my therapist, let alone anyone else because it makes it real and then I can’t avoid the pain, but she was loved by so many and I feel it’s time.”
She called Chloe “the love of my life, my best friend, my soul dog,” adding that her dog “passed peacefully in my arms while I told her how much I loved her.”
Winter said she rescued Chloe in the summer of 2016 after contacting a shepherd rescue in downtown Los Angeles. She connected with Maria Wagner from Wag Tales, who matched her with the stray dog.
“I drove over, set on adopting her without even meeting her,” Winter wrote. “Once I did though, and looked into her eyes, I felt a connection I’d never felt before and one I knew I never wanted to live without.”
She described their bond as something deeper than companionship.
“We had a soul bond. We understood each other,” she wrote. “She healed so much in me, and taught me things I’ll carry with me forever. I needed her just as much as she needed me.”
Winter said leaving that shelter marked the beginning of “one of the most important relationships I’d ever have.”
‘She Was Everything to All of Us’
Winter reflected on Chloe’s protective nature and the role she played in their home. She imagined one day having Chloe beside her during pregnancy and protecting a future baby.
“She was everything to all of us,” Winter wrote. “The mama dog to her siblings while I was the human mama.”
She described how Chloe would stand between her smaller dog, Cleo, and the others to keep her safe. Without Chloe, Winter said, the house feels different.
“We’re missing her sweet, yet strong, protective presence making sure everyone is in line and everything is okay.”
She also admitted that writing the tribute was part of facing her grief.
“I wrote all of this less for everyone else and more because once I started writing about her it was just hard to stop,” she shared. “We saved each other. I love her with every fiber of my being and she will never be forgotten.”
Remembering Chloe’s Personality and Joy
Winter closed her message by sharing lighter memories that captured Chloe’s spirit.
“Chloe was the sweetest, most gentle girl you’d ever meet,” she wrote, adding that her dog was also “the queen of side eye.”
She described how Chloe loved sitting in chairs like a person, guarded her toys, and greeted her at the door with excitement.
“Whenever I came home she would get so excited she would bound around the house and find a toy to bring to me as a present,” Winter wrote. “She was the goodest girl.”
Though Chloe did not shower her with constant kisses, Winter said the ones she gave “meant everything.”
Getty“She was my shadow. Everywhere I went, she followed.”
Winter said Chloe died peacefully in her arms after the veterinarian made her comfortable. She ended her tribute with gratitude for the time they had together.
“Rest in peace, sweet angel.”
