Andy Cohen wants fans to know that his former dog Wacha is "happy" with his new owner.
The "Watch What Happens Live" host revealed last month that he'd chosen to re-home Wacha because of concerns about the safety of his 15-month-old son, Ben. During Monday's episode of his "Radio Andy" program on SiriusXM, Cohen shared the details behind his emotional decision.
"I don't think I have to tell you guys how much I love Wacha, I mean that kind of speaks for itself, but something happened with Wacha, the day actually that we were taping the 'Below Deck' reunion ... It was not great and I don't really care to go into it," said Cohen, 51, who adopted Wacha from a West Virginia rescue organization seven years ago.
"It was a real moment where I had to look at where we had been and where we could go with the dog," he added.
Cohen said Wacha had demonstrated "behavioral issues" for many years, and had worked with Los Angeles dog trainer Brandon McMillan.
But after the last incident, the Bravo star feared that Wacha might be a danger to Ben. He spoke with several experts in the animal rescue field, including "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Lisa Vanderpump, who founded the Vanderpump Dog Foundation. "And it was the unanimous view that I should find a very happy home for him," said the star.
"Brandon was like, 'Andy, if something happens, you are going to have to put him down,'" he said. "How will you be able to live with yourself if you kept him in the home and then something happened with you and Ben and then you had to put him down?'"
Wacha is now thriving with his new owner, Sherman, in Connecticut, Cohen said.
"I mean, he's so happy," said Cohen, who revealed that the video he shared of Wacha when he announced his re-homing on Instagram was filmed during a recent reunion with the pooch.
"I took him out for an hour walk, which is what I plan to do now, I plan to see him still," shared Cohen. "And the great thing is that, after he went back with Sherman, Sherman said there were no signs that he was depressed or feeling any kind of way."
"Wacha is an in-the-moment dog," he added. "He was happy to see me and then when Sherman came to pick him up, he was happy to see Sherman."
In the Bravo star's initial post about his decision to re-home Wacha, he called the beagle mix "my first baby," and credited him with preparing him for parenthood.
"I am not the same person I was when I got him. My dog changed me. He opened me up to love.. to caring… and ultimately to having a family," he wrote.