Kelly Ripa & Mark Consuelos’ Puppy Adoption Delayed Due to Health Issue

Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos will have to wait a little longer to bring their new family member home.

The Live With Kelly and Mark hosts recently announced they were adopting an adorable puppy that appeared on the show. However, the couple revealed in a Sunday, October 18, interview with People that the adoption process has hit an unexpected delay.

“We don’t have him yet because he had a little bit of [a] health issue,” Ripa told the outlet, while Consuelos noted that the puppy is currently receiving treatment for a “parasite.” He added, “So they’re treating it and then he’s going to come. Any day now.”

On the October 12 episode of Live, Consuelos walked out onto set holding the dog, whose original name is Lucas. The pup sat in his lap during his and Ripa’s opening conversation. “Mark walked into my dressing room this morning with Lucas in his arms, and I saw a different you. I saw a kinder, gentler you,” Ripa remarked.

Consuelos went on to suggest naming the dog Javi, short for Javier. “This is trouble. He’s naming this dog that we have not adopted,” Ripa quipped, later noting that they were bringing their dog, Lena, to set to meet Lucas/Javi after the show.

Ripa shared a sweet video of Lena and Lucas/Javi’s backstage meeting via Instagram, captioning the clip, “When Lena Met Javi (Lucas).”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Kelly Ripa (@kellyripa)

One day later, Ripa and Consuelos confirmed that they were officially adopting the dog. “We have a new baby. Not living in the house yet,” Ripa announced on the Tuesday, October 13, episode of Live. “We’ve got to wait for a couple of medicals, a couple of tests, but we are like expectant parents. I started nesting last night. I couldn’t sleep. I started making a nest.”

Related

Kelly Ripa Comments on Daughter Lola Consuelos' Sheer Dress as Fans React

Speaking of Lena’s meeting with Lucas/Javi, Consuelos said. “Lena, she didn’t bark at Javi.” Ripa added, “She’s very funny, though. She’s as terrified of Javi as she is every other dog.”

Ripa said she took the new dog’s arrival in their lives as a sign from her late dog, Chewie, who died in February 2025.

“Somebody on social media said, ‘Oh, Chewie sent you a good one.’ And I was like, ‘Yes!’ I was thinking that, too, that my beloved dog, who I will never get over and mourn for the rest of my life, sent this little dog here,” she stated. “I decided I was only going to get a dog — and I didn’t really care about the breed, but I wanted a dog that looked exactly like Lena. You know what I mean? Just a small, little black dog. That’s what I was in the market for. And then, you brought this Chewie-like dog, and I thought, ‘Oh, my gosh!’”

Ripa and Consuelos continued to debate what to name their new pet on the Wednesday, October 14, episode of Live, but agreed that their kids — Michael, Lola, and Joaquin — will not have a say in the decision. “Our children are adults. They do not live with us, so they have no vote,” Ripa joked. “But they feel totally entitled to the name of our new dog.”

The co-hosts later asked the Live audience to vote for their preferred name through cheers, with Javi earning more applause than Javi.

Live With Kelly and Mark, Weekdays, Check Local Listings