R.I.P. Bianca Stern

Photo: The Howard Stern Show

At the start of the show, Howard mourned the loss of their beloved bulldog, Bianca, wondering if the loss was karmic retribution: “I guess this is my payback. Because you know, the longer you live, the more you learn. When I was a young man, I said a lot of things on the radio I didn’t know what the hell I was talking about. I hadn’t lived long enough to really comment on anything.” Still, Bianca outlived many of her kind: “For a bulldog to be 10 and a half, it’s a miracle you’re alive. Most of them don’t live that long.” Howard’s voice started to crack: “If I tell you this, I’m going to cry. So I don’t know if I want to tell you this, but it really touches you. So here I go. I’ll do it quick. I can be a hardass. So one of the things Beth always did–when you have a bulldog, you have to clean her folds–and Beth sat there with her for a long time, and Bianca was dead. Yeah. She cleaned her. [moans] Ok, I’m going to take a break. Yeah, I’m bummed. It’s so silly.”

Pushed on by Robin, Howard kept having to stop himself: “I really am going to cry. I spent the whole day crying.” Howard wished he could be with Beth (Beth was out on Long Island with Bianca: “She’s had a tough night.”), looking for Robin to help: “This is where you say something. I don’t care what you say.” Howard eventually regained composure, sniffing audibly: “That dog brought us more joy. … She was the best dog. And I’m going to miss her terribly.”