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Taylor Kinney’s family is growing! The Chicago Fire star and his girlfriend, Ashley Cruger, welcomed a new puppy into their home — and fans are freaking out! Keep reading for all the details on the latest addition of Taylor Kinney’s family.

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Kinney has starred on NBC’s hit procedural since it first debuted in 2012. He portrays Kelly Severide, a firefighter at the Chicago Fire Department’s fictional Firehouse 51 and an aspiring arson investigator. On Chicago Fire, he is married to Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo), a lieutenant with the Chicago Fire Department and the officer in charge of Truck 81, but off-screen, he is in a relationship with model Ashley Cruger.

The couple have been together since 2022. The went Instagram official with their relationship that March and made their first public appearance in April when they attended Operation Smile’s 10th Annual Park City Ski Challenge in Utah. Although Kinney and Cruger are very private with their relationship, they occasionally share glimpses into their life together on social media.

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Taylor Kinney, Ashley Cruger

On March 13, 2024, Cruger revealed that she and Kinney had taken a major step in their relationship and adopted a dog together. The model shared several photos on her Instagram Story of the black and brown bulldog, including one of the puppy giving Kinney a kiss on the ear as he played with her. “New family member,” she captioned the first post with several heart-eye emojis. The second photo, of just the puppy, read: “That’s a good girl if I’ve ever seen one!!!!!”

Kinney is already a devoted dog dad. He has posted several photos with a scruffy black dog in the past, including a photo of the pup trying to give him a kiss on the lips. “Still mad at me?” he captioned the August 2020 post. In November of that year, he posted a photo of himself reading in a park with the same dog cuddled in between his arms. “Yea she can read,” he wrote in the caption.

The adoption of the new puppy comes amidst a turbulent time for Kinney on Chicago Fire. The actor previously stepped away from the show midway through Season 11 to deal with a “personal matter.” Although he returned for the currently airing Season 12, he left again in the third episode. Severide did make a cameo during the most recent episode, which saw him serve as the best man in Matt Casey (Jesse Spencer) and Sylvie Brett’s (Kara Killmer) wedding, but fans are still worried that Kinney may leave the show permanently. His character is struggling with balancing his newfound passion for arson investigation with his marriage to Stella and his obligations in Chicago. He first left his wife in Season 11 to train at “the best arson investigation training program in the world,” and he has now found himself returning to Tucson, Arizona, to investigate an arson case with the ATF.

It is still unclear if Kinney is planning on exiting the show for good in Season 12 or if he will return again. Fans will just have to keep tuning in to find out.

Chicago Fire airs on NBC on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. EST and streams on Peacock.