The Story Behind Ryan Gosling’s Necklace Will Break Your Heart

During an appearance on The Ellen Degeneres Show Thursday, Ryan Gosling revealed that his dog George, who was his own sort of celebrity, has died. During the final moments of Gosling's episode of Saturday Night Live last weekend, he wore a tee-shirt dedicated to his fallen comrade. And, he told Degeneres, he wears George's dog tag as a necklace.

"He passed away in December and he was a good friend to me," Gosling said. George was 17.

Gosling, 36, proceeded to give a mini-eulogy for his friend. As Marie Claire points out, George has been on the pop culture radar for a while. He appeared on The Late Show with Jimmy Fallon alongside his owner in 2011. At the time, George sported a mohawk.

"He's more interesting than I am so I thought he would be helpful," Gosling told host Jimmy Fallon.

"It’s funny to say ‘dog’ because I feel like, there was something about George where I think he felt like being a dog was beneath him," Gosling said on Ellen. "He would not do tricks. If you wanted him to sit down you had to sort of convince him it was in his best interest."

He then recounted a time he took George to an outdoor restaurant. George decided that he deserved a seat at the table so, when a patron stood from their seat, the dog clambered into the seat "like a gentleman." Gosling added that George had been with him for almost every film he'd ever been in — 17 years just about spans Gosling's career.

The actor doesn't plan on getting a new dog anytime soon. As Degeneres pointed out, he's got two daughters, a three-year-old and a one-year-old, so he's got his hands full. Gosling recently toted his daughters to New York City for his Blade Runner 2049 press tour, and the youngest, Amada, quickly discovered the realities of New York City.

"My youngest daughter is a year and a half, and it was her first time in New York. I brought her to the window in the morning, and I said, 'Sweetheart, welcome to New York.' And two cars went smash," Gosling told Jimmy Kimmel on Jimmy Kimmel Live. "And smoke started pouring out of the cars, and these two guys got out. And I won't repeat the hand gestures for you, but I quickly covered her eyes and ran away from the window."

Watch Gosling's full interview on The Ellen Degeneres Show, below.