THE LATEST EPISODE of cartoon comedy Family Guy has upset fans by revealing the death of a major character.

The Griffin family’s pet dog Brian was killed off on last night’s episode, and his ending was as pleasant as one would come to expect from Family Guy– ruthless roadkill.

But it shouldn’t come as too much of a shock, as the show’s creators announced in July that they would be killing off a major character and replacing them with a new one.

The replacement pooch Vinnie was introduced in the episode, and is voiced by Sopranos actor Tony Sirico.

Brutal.

Talking to E! News, executive producer Steve Callaghan said he hoped that fans would ‘trust’ them when it came to the reasoning behind the death.

Our fans are smart enough and have been loyal to our show for long enough, to know that they can trust us. We always make choices that always work to the greatest benefit of the series.

Oh yeah? Have you check Twitter recently?

Some had many questions

Others were optimistic that it’s a ruse

The odd few felt physically sick

… and emotional

Many didn’t know how they felt at all

For the rest, it didn’t come soon enough

Why, Seth MacFarlane, why?

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