Norman Reedus Shares Heartfelt Tribute Walking Dead Co-Star After Death Announcement

The Walking Dead’s Norman Reedus has paid tribute to the co-star he called the “best TV buddy” following the announcement that Seven, who played Daryl Dixon’s canine companion Dog in several seasons of the show, has died. Seven last appeared in the flagship show’s finale, when Daryl left him with Judith as he headed off on the journey that is being charted in his spin-off series, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon.

The death of Seven was announced on The Walking Dead’s official Instagram account, with the post simply reading, “Rest in peace, Seven. TWD’s best boy.” This was followed by Reedus’ own tribute, in which he wrote:

Like many of his human counterparts, Seven’s appearances in The Walking Dead brought something to the show that would otherwise have been missing. In this case, after being introduced as the companion of Lynn Collins’s Leah, the disappearance of her character led to Daryl becoming Dog’s adoptive owner. From that moment on, Dog became a loyal ally, and even though he was left behind as Daryl headed off in search of Rick, that was done with his best interests in mind.

At one point, fans were worried that the character of Dog would be killed off, and in 2018 mounted a petition to ensure that the faithful companion remained by Daryl's side to the end. As it turned out, that did happen in the main series.

The love between Reedus and Seven was not just part of the show either, as the actor previously spoke about what it was like working with the canine, and how much he admired the animal’s abilities as an actor. Speaking previously with ComicBook.com, Reedus said:

“I think he’s the smartest cast member we got. We just did a scene the other day that ended up being the opposite of what it was supposed to be because the dog just wanted to do something else, and it came out so much better. He’ll probably be running the show! It’s great. I love it. He loves me, too.”

How Dog Came to Be Part of The Walking Dead Family

The Walking Dead has featured several animals over the years, but in many cases these have been fleeting appearances in the background, or as CGI characters, such as Ezekiel’s tiger Shiva. With Dog, it was different. Seven joined the show as Dog with the explicit purpose of almost replacing Rick Grimes in Daryl’s own personal space. Former showrunner Angela Kang brought Dog into Daryl’s life, and explained in an interview with Entertainment Weekly:

"Daryl is somebody who hunts and goes about and does things, and it seemed like a dog is a good companion. It shows that there is a still a desire in him to have a connection somehow. And so the dog is his faithful companion."

Kang also explained at the time that Reedus was responsible for choosing exactly what type of dog Daryl should have as a companion in the series, which led to him sharing several images with Kang of the puppies that he believed could work. Ultimately, this led to the selection of Seven, and is another reason why Reedus’ tribute to his former co-star is so poignant.