Erika Girardi and her dog, Tiago.Photo:Ethan Miller/Getty; Erika Jayne/Instagram
Ethan Miller/Getty; Erika Jayne/Instagram
Erika Girardiis mourning the loss of her Dutch shepherd Tiago, who died earlier this month at the age of 12.
TheReal Housewives of Beverly Hillsstar opened up to PEOPLE exclusively about the death in an interview on Monday, remembering her black pooch as “the best friend a girl could have.”
“I had to euthanize Tiago two weeks ago. I had to put my dog to sleep,” says Girardi, 52. “It’s just been really sad for me, and just it’s been tough.”
“The house is quiet,” she adds. “My boy’s gone. So… yeah… I’ve been really grieving. And I didn’t do one of those Instagram announcements, but it just feels right to share it.”
Tiago came into Girardi’s life as an adult, the reality star purchasing her four-legged friend from Mike Ritland, a former U.S. Navy SEAL who trains personal protection K9s through his company,Trikos International. She acquired Tiago after her other German shepherd, Andy, died of cancer.
“Tiago lived a really long time for a shepherd,” says Girardi. “He had an amazing life.”
RHOBHviewers will surely remember Tiago, who often appeared alongside Girardi on the Bravo reality series, of which she’s been a cast member for eight seasons. “The one really good thing about the show is that he will live on forever,” she tells PEOPLE. “That brings me enormous comfort.”
The actress and singer — who has hadnine No. 1 hits onBillboard’s Dance Club Songs chartunder her on-stage moniker, Erika Janye — has often featured Tiago on her Instagram account, calling him sweet names like “My guy” and “My distinguished gentleman.”
“He always has my back,” Erika wrote of her canine on Instagram.
As viewers will see on Wednesday’s upcoming premiere ofRHOBH’s 13th season, most of those stresses are in the rear-view mirror for Erika.
She’s dove into work, launchinga wildly successful (and provocative) Vegas showcalledBet It All on Blonde, which runs select weekends at the House of Blues inside Mandalay Bay through Dec. 16.
“It’s been amazing,” she tells PEOPLE of the residency. “I love it and am so grateful for the experience, I really am. It’s been a rebirth in a lot of ways and a chance to introducea newer version of myselfas I really launch into this next chapter.”
Erika Jayne at the opening of ‘Bet It All on Blonde’.Denise Truscello/Getty for Live Nation Las Vegas
Denise Truscello/Getty for Live Nation Las Vegas
That doesn’t mean critics haven’t been trying to pull her backward. “The biggest challenge has been compartmentalizing the legal battles, the personal attacks — just tuning out all the noise,” Erika says. “But this happens sometimes in life, where you have this great opportunity that’s supposed to be so joyous, and then you have this other thing that just steals the joy if you let it. You have to stay strong and focus on the good, but let’s be honest: everybody has a threshold, and it bleeds over sometimes. So it’s hard.”
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Season 13 ofThe Real Housewives of Beverly Hillspremieres Wednesday (8 p.m. ET) on Bravo.
source: people.com
