Reality of what happened to Byers' dog in Stranger Things after David Harbour had shocking comment

With just days to go until the season finale, there are still so many unanswered questions about the Stranger Things universe.

Why is Vecna so hellbent on destroying the world? How are the Hawkins crew going to stop him from doing just that, and why does the US military continue to be completely incompetent?

And, more importantly, what the hell happened to the Byers' family dog?

In case you've forgotten or not revisited season one recently, the Byers family previously had a pet dog named Chester, who frequently pops up in the early days of the season.

The terrier dog is seen excitedly greeting Will after he returns home from the D&D session in episode one, as well as alerting several characters to paranormal occurrences by barking.

He makes his last appearance during the Byers' Christmas Eve dinner before never being seen on screen again – so what happened?

Like Will, Holly and all the other kids, the Byers' family dog also disappeared (Netflix)

What happened to Will Byers' dog in Stranger Things?

The simple answer is that Chester was simply written out of the script after the first season of Stranger Things.

No exact reason has been given by the show's producers, with the consensus being that Chester died off-screen, either from paranormal or natural causes.

This is backed up by Will actor Noah Schnapp, who confirmed that his character's dog had passed away between seasons one and two during an appearance at Stranger Con Chicago.

Producer Shawn Levy has since shared further insight into this theory, telling ScreenRant that it was unclear whether Chester was eaten by a Demogorgon, as with Dustin's cat, or if he was 'forgotten and died of malnutrition' while the Byers family battled to save the world.

Schnapp even revealed that Chester's grave appeared in the background during a season three deleted scene.

David Harbour previously said that Chester, seen in the background, was hard to work with (Netflix)

As for the real-world explanation, you can look no further than Jim Hopper actor David Harbour, who famously revealed his disdain for canine actor Cruiser during a 2021 interview.

Speaking about the pooch during an episode of Hot Ones, the 50-year-old said he 'hated that f**king dog so bad'.

"Take after take, it would wander off or do something," the Jim Hopper actor continued. "And then I remember the trainer on the sidelines going, 'Come on! We got to make our money!''

As for the decision to axe Chester, Harbour went on to hint that he might've had a hand in it, adding: "I walked up to them, and I was like, 'You know, the Byers should probably have that dog put to sleep next season'.

"We never talk about it the whole rest of the show, but they just wind up not having a dog."