This Game Of Thrones Character Really Is Dead

Jon Snow may be alive, but apparently, one Game of Thrones character has actually met a brutal end. Art Parkinson, who plays Rickon Stark, has put the kibosh on lingering speculation that the dire wolf Shaggydog is still breathing Westerosi air. Because this is Thrones — where there's a fan theory for nearly every plot line — there were those who believed that the decapitated dog head Smalljon Umber plopped down in front of Ramsay Bolton belonged to a different beast. Remember, Umber used Shaggydog's demise as evidence that he had truly captured a Stark child. But alas, it seems like we must mourn the pup. "Uh, yeah, I’d say so," Parkinson said of Shaggydog's deadness when questioned by The Huffington Post. Parkinson was also sad to learn that Shaggydog met his head for personal reasons. Dead dog character means less real-dog playtime on set. "It was a little bit disappointing because, you know, looking at the dogs we had on set...and that you’d never really get to hang out with them again," he said. "When I read that Shaggydog was dead, I was definitely a little upset." Us too, Art. Us, too. At least Parkinson can reminisce about happier days with Shaggydog. "Years ago, whenever we were doing the show before my storyline went off, it was great, because they actually brought the dogs down to my house and we got to hang out with them and have a bit of a bonding session, just so I wasn’t intimidated because [I was] working with them from a young age," he said. Sadly, his mom would not let him adopt a dire wolf — like his co-star Sophie Turner did — because they already had two pooches. It's jut a series of dog-related woes for poor Rickon.