A 7th Heaven star felt traumatized by a particular episode of the classic sitcom. It involved a dog getting hit by a car.
David Gallagher recently reunited with some of his other co-stars from 7th Heaven for a look back at the classic show. Gallagher remembered the dog from the sitcom, Happy, fondly. Happy died in real life at age 15.
Co-stars Beverly Mitchell and Mackenzie Rosman agreed. "We all loved Happy," Mitchell said. Rosman agreed, saying, "She was a very good dog." According to Mitchell, the show's creator wrote the part of Happy specifically for the rescue dog.
"Brenda saw Happy, she loved Happy, wrote the show for Happy," she said.
However, according to Gallagher, the dog didn't exactly enjoy life on set.
"Happy was scared of the crew members on the set because there's about 100 people you never see constantly around us why we are filming," he said. "Every time we did a shot, everyone has to swap out, the crew runs in, Happy would get nervous about it. But because me and Happy worked together every day, she would stick with me. I would often take Happy with me as we cleared out and we'd go back to the trainers and take a break."
'7th Heaven' Looks Back
Still, Gallagher and the dog developed a close bond. So, it ended up being difficult for the 7th Heaven star when they had to film an episode where Happy gets hit by a car.
"I just remember coming home and going to bed after doing the scene where Happy was hit by a car. That episode was really heavy for me," Gallagher said. "There were certain episodes that stick out that require you to give it your best, honest shot, and try to connect with the emotions of it. And you would drive home from work that day and feel destroyed. That stuff's the hardest work. If you get it right, it's the work you're most proud of."
Meanwhile, Rosman said that she found playing a flute as Ruthie on 7th Heaven to be challenging.
Rosman said, "They gave me a flute because Ruthie was supposed to play a flute," she recalled. "And I was proud of myself for getting it to make noise."
