Kristin Cavallari Mourns the Death of Her 'Badass, Amazing' Dog Kona, Says Her Kids' Reaction 'Wrecked' Her
- - Kristin Cavallari Mourns the Death of Her 'Badass, Amazing' Dog Kona, Says Her Kids' Reaction 'Wrecked' Her
Rachel McRadyJanuary 13, 2026 at 7:58 AM
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Kristin Cavallari/Instagram
Kristin Cavallari pets German Shepherd Kona -
Kristin Cavallari revealed that she had to put down her German Shepherd, Kona, recently
The dog, who was almost 12 years old, has lived with Cavallari's three kids — Camden, 13, Jaxon, 11 and 10-year-old Saylor — for the majority of their lives
The former reality star said her eldest son Camden's reaction to the death has "wrecked" her
Kristin Cavallari is starting off her 2026 mourning the loss of a beloved member of her family — her German Shepherd Kona.
Cavallari, 39, shared the news on the Tuesday, Jan. 13 episode of her Let’s Be Honest with Kristin Cavallari podcast, revealing that she had to put the dog down the day before recording her first episode of the new year.
“God, it is so hard, the physical act of putting a dog down,” the former reality star shared, noting that it was her second time doing it after the death of her Yorkie, “Even if you have made peace with it.”
Cavallari noted that Kona was almost 12, which was “great” for a German Shepherd, and that her age was starting to show.
“She lived a great life. Kona was, up until the last few months, she was going on walks with us still,” Cavallari said. “And I mean, she was kind of losing her eyesight and her hearing, but she still, she was hanging. And then, I don't know, in the last five, six months, she just really took a downhill turn.”
Kristin Cavallari/Instagram
Kristin Cavallari's daughter Saylor pets dog Kona.
After taking a week to “say goodbye” to the pet, feeding her treats such as chocolate, peanut butter and steak, Cavallari then humanely put her dog down.
“If you guys haven't experienced this before, it's intense,” she said of the process. “I was laying there with her, and I was petting her. I'm gonna try really hard not to cry.”
The mother of three also shared her three kids’ heartbreaking reactions to losing their pet after growing up with her.
“Camden texted me, and he was like, ‘I can't be here. Can you please come get me?’ ” she said, sharing that she picked her eldest son, 13, up from school early. “He got in my car and started bawling, crying… seeing Camden so sad. Oh my god, It just wrecked me. It wrecked me. This is like the first big death for them.”
Kristin Cavallari/Instagram
Kristin Cavallari's son Jaxon pets their dog Kona.
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Cavallari, who also shares son Jaxon, 11, and daughter Saylor, 10, with her ex-husband Jay Cutler, shared that she got Kona while Cutler was playing football in Miami, and she felt unsafe alone in the house with three kids in Tennessee.
“I don't think I slept at all when Jay was gone,” Cavallari said of that time period.
She got Kona as an adult animal from a breeder, who said that she would be an “attack dog” with extreme loyalty.
“Kona was immediately so sweet and loving with both Jaxon and I. And I immediately was just like, ‘This is my dog, man,’ ” Cavallari recalled. “This is my girl. And she was. She was always, always my dog. Kona would follow me everywhere, and she always had eyes on me.”
Kristin Cavallari/Instagram
Kristin Cavallari with her German Shepherds Kona and Bane.
Cavallari added that the first night Kona was in their home, she slept on a back staircase that had been making her nervous because it had access to her kids’ rooms but was on the other side of the house from her room.
“That was such an incredible moment when I realized she was on the staircase. Because I just felt so safe,” Cavallari shared. “Finally, after months of not sleeping and being so worried about all of my babies upstairs, Kona just knew to sleep on that staircase to keep them safe. And it was the best feeling in the entire world. And so that was Kona in a nutshell, just the most badass, amazing dog on the planet.”
Cavallari, who has two other dogs, ages 3 and 2, said she will “never not have” a German Shepherd moving forward, but that she plans to wait a little while before getting another.
“I'm not ready to pull the trigger just yet. But we are cremating Kona, and I'm waiting to get her ashes, and then we are gonna spread them in our yard,” she explained.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
