Sue Johnston's dog has been shot dead.
The veteran actress was left "devastated" when her beloved cocker spaniel Bo vanished last week and it has now transpired the pet pooch was killed by a local farmer in Marton, Cheshire.
A source told the Daily Express newspaper: "Sue is understandably very distressed about the loss. She'd like to thank everyone who helped her scour the area to try to find the dogs and also the North West Missing Dogs Network who were most helpful."
The 'Royle Family' star's dog was being walked by a friend, alongside another spaniel named Hattie, who lost sight of the animals when they chased off after some chickens.
Farmers can legally kill a dog in order to protect their livestock, as long as the shootings are reported within 48 hours.
Dog lovers on the North West Missing Dogs Network, which Sue reached out to in order to find information about her missed pet, have expressed their sympathy to her and paid tribute to Bo.
One user wrote: "RIP sweetheart. So very sad for you and your owner that it ended this way."

'EastEnders' star Ben Hardy is sad to see Hetti Bywater leave the soap.
The blonde actress' alter-ego Lucy Beale was recently killed off in the BBC One soap and Ben - who plays Lucy's twin Peter Beale - admits he was disappointed his "good friend" axed.
He told Attitude magazine: "I get on well with Hetti. I'm really sad that she's leaving, we were really good friends. So that's a shame."
Ben admits the emotional scenes were difficult to film but he was thrilled he was able to get "stuck into" the scenes.
He explained: "The first few months I was on the show I was doing some good stuff - love story, little secret. But to get such a big storyline with me and Adam ... the reactions to the death of Lucy were really challenging but also something I was really looking forward to getting stuck into."
Ben also gets on well with his on-screen dad, Adam Woodyatt (Ian Beale) because they both have "geeky" personalities.
He added: "I get on with Adam, we're both quite geeky. We both just play with our phones off set."

'Good Morning Britain' launched with 800,000 viewers on Monday (28.04.14).
ITV's highly publicised new breakfast programme starring Susanna Reid got off to a decent start by pulling in 200,000 more viewers than its predecessor 'Daybreak' averaged in its final few months on air.
However, the new show - which has been likened to fast-paced American morning shows such as 'Good Morning America' - was still no match for Susanna's former show 'BBC Breakfast', which held strong with 1.5 million viewers from 6am.
Nonetheless, ITV's director of daytime Helen Warner seems pleased with the show's start.
She said: "The launch was a fantastic team effort, and we are focused on building a strong breakfast brand going forward."
'Daybreak', meanwhile, began with 1.015 million viewers in 2010, but numbers soon dwindled.
Susanna is joined on 'Good Morning Britain' by breakfast TV veteran Ben Shephard, former Sky News presenter Charlotte Hawkins and ex-Sky Sports News host Sean Fletcher.
The foursome present the show from behind a large glass desk, but the set has received some criticism from viewers who feel it hides glamorous star Susanna's legs.
One disgruntled fan wrote on Twitter: "they have Susanna Reid behind a desk!! Really the best legs in the country stuck behind a desk! (sic)"

ITV has ordered a new series of 'Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs'.
The hit documentary series, which follows pet lover Paul's efforts to help abandoned and unwanted animals at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, will return for a third series consisting of 11 half-hour episodes later this year.
ITV's factual commissioning editor Priya Singh said: "We're thrilled to see the return of this much-loved series. Paul O'Grady, heartwarming stories, humour, emotion and of course, dogs - a magical combination."
The hit series pulled in six million viewers each week for its second series and won a National Television Award in January.
The latest series will see Paul offer his assistance to other Battersea Dogs and Cats Home sites in Brands Hatch in Kent and Old Windsor in Berkshire, as well as the flagship London shelter.
Paul recently began hosting the latest series of his teatime chat show 'The Paul O'Grady Show' after recovering from an angina attack last November.
The 58-year-old star admits his latest health scare didn't deter him from his busy work schedule.
Speaking on ITV's 'Good Morning Britain' yesterday (28.04.14), he said: "I came in for work and I was the colour of paste and they said I had to go off to the hospital. I knew the night before ... I was out on Thursday and back to work on Monday and did a six-day week."

Johnny Knoxville is set to star in comedy 'Sick Day'. The 43-year-old actor - who was catapulted to the spotlight following MTV series 'Jackass' - is attached to the forthcoming picture which will follow a group of friends in their 30s who call in sic...

Andrew Garfield wants to replace Peter Parker with Miles Morales.
The 'Amazing Spider-Man 2' actor says it would be an "important move" for the web-yielding superhero to "pass on the torch" to his Black-Hispanic counterpart, who features as the alternate-reality hero in the 'Ultimate Spider-Man' comic book series after the death of Marvel's version of Parker.
He told Comic Book Resources: "Miles Morales was a huge moment in this character's comic book life. And I do believe that we can do that. It's something I'm really interested in figuring out; an eloquent way of co-existing, or passing on the torch. I don't have an answer, but I think it's actually a really important move. I think it's a really beautiful and important move."
Garfield claims the transition from Parker to Morales will make a natural ending for when he finally decides to retire from the role, following reports that Sony Pictures are planning to release a Spider-Man-related film every year.
He continued: "I want it to feel like a circle. I want the two ends to join, somehow. I don't know what that means, yet. I don't know what that means in terms of the quantity of Spider-Man movies I do. But I know that I don't particularly want to be a 40-year-old Spider-Man. I do know that time is fleeting."
The 'Amazing Spider-Man 2' is screening in UK cinemas now and will debut in the US on May 2.

Zach Braff has split from his girlfriend Taylor Bagley.
The 'Scrubs' star and the model called it quits earlier this month after five years of dating, according to the New York Post's Page Six column.
The couple parted ways shortly before the April 10 opening of Zach's Woody Allen-directed Broadway musical, 'Bullets Over Broadway'.
The actor's representative confirmed: "Zach and Taylor broke up over a month ago. They are continuing their friendship but are no longer a couple."
He is said to have ended things because he wasn't ready to settle down with the 6ft tall beauty, with a source telling the paper, "Taylor wanted to get married".
The 39-year-old star has reportedly been spotted making the most of his single status at New York City hotspots since their long-term relationship ended.
The couple's demise could also be related to Zach's intense rehearsal schedule for the show, which Taylor had initially encouraged him to take part in.
His rep added: "Zach has been attached to the [show] and involved with its development for over two years. He chose to do it because it has been a lifelong dream of his to be a part of a Broadway musical."

Chris Martin included his children on Coldplay's new album to promote "togetherness" through challenging times.
The 37-year-old singer - who split from wife Gwyneth Paltrow last month after 10 years of marriage - says the personal theme of 'Ghost Stories' was reflected by the inclusion of vocals from Apple, nine, and Moses, eight, and he found their presence in the recording studio "powerful".
Speaking about the contribution of his children - who appear on different tracks - with BBC Radio 1 DJ Zayn Lowe, he revealed: "My daughter is singing in there a little bit too. It was the idea of togetherness through life's challenges.
"For me, the message is don't ever let go. For example we've had friends who have killed themselves or gone down the wrong road because they haven't had the right people around them. And that's really sad.
"But having my son in the studio with me is really powerful."
The 'Magic' singer - who has admitted his "own issues" contributed to the breakdown of his marriage - admits the album is full of messages of encouragement to himself.
He said: "I don't want to get too personal but that's just to me saying 'You're amazing, you've got to be amazing,' and I need to improve a bit.
"It's a new approach to life, because I had to change it."

Jennifer Lopez's children convinced her to record a song about curvy butts for her new album.
The 'I Luh Ya Papi' singer was struggling to decide whether to feature a track entitled 'Big Booty' on her eighth studio album - which is set for release in June - until her six-year-old twins, Emme and Max, stepped in to lend a helping hand.
Speaking on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' last night (28.04.14), she said: "This song is a Diplo track. He's a really great producer and we were in the studio, you know, and this track comes up and everyone in the studio is like this is the type of song that J.Lo needs to do. And I'm like, 'Never in my life will I do a song called 'Big Booty' ever, it will never happen.'
"We end up writing the track. I take the (songs) to my car afterwards and try to live with it to see, like, which ones in the studio this week will I go and record afterwards. So I'm the car with my twins Max and Emme, who were five at the time. I'm listening to a bunch of songs and the minute they hear 'Big Booty' they were going crazy. I don't know if they thought they were saying a dirty word, if they felt naughty, but they loved this song and because they loved it I recorded it."
The 44-year-old star was confident to trust her kids' musical tastes, especially after noticing her son Max has a talent for recognising the biggest hits, comparing his ear for a tune with Grammy Award-winning producer Clive Davis.
J.Lo - who had the twins with her ex-husband Marc Anthony - said: "My son has a very good ear. He could be the next Clive Davis. I know he has a good ear for music. We will be in the car listening to the radio and flipping through channels and all of a sudden he'll be like go back. Right away he can pick on a first listen, only the big, big smashes."

Billy Joel was left "drooling" when he tried heroin.
The 64-year-old star has admitted that he once tried the illicit drug while visiting Holland but vowed to never take it again after the experience left him "drooling" and feeling "sick".
Speaking at Howard Stern's 'Town Hall' event at New York's Cutting Room club yesterday (29.04.14), he said: "This was back in the late '70s I think. We were in Amsterdam, and there was all this stuff going on, so I said, 'Let me see what this is like.'
"It got me so high, I don't know how to deal with it. You just get way out, just go to another place, and you're into the blues. All you want to hear is the blues. You start drooling, and you get sick."
The 'Piano Man' hitmaker confessed however, that despite not enjoying his experience of the drug, it did inspire the lyrics behind his track 'Scandinavian Skies', which featured on his album 'The Nylon Curtain' and mentions the "sins of Amsterdam" and the feeling of being left "paralysed".
Billy - whose daughter Alexa Ray Joel is now a successful musician in her own right - also admitted he has no plans to work on any new material.
He said: "Everybody has a hard time understanding that, 'Why don't you write new songs?'
"Elton [John] would say that to me, 'Why don't you make another album?' And I used to say to him, 'Why don't you make less albums?' "

Ed Sheeran looked slightly dishevelled as she braved the coastal winds to catch a boat in Sydney, Australia. The 'A-Team' hitmaker made his way to a private performance on The Island.

Jennifer Lopez waved to fans and photographers as she arrived with boyfriend Casper Smart to 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' in Los Angeles. The 'Jenny From The Block' hitmaker looked casual in a white leather biker jacket and trousers.