Family Guy fans all over are disappointed to see one of their favorite characters killed off. Brian, the dog that talks and does pretty much everything else humans do, was killed during last night’s episode. While spoilers were leaked last week regarding Brian’s demise, it still came as quite a surprise to many to see a main character cut.

For those wanting to know why Brian was killed off, executive producer Steve Callaghan discussed the decision during an interview with E!. Callaghan said killing off Brian was a way to shake things up on the show.

“Well, this was an idea that got pitched in the writers room and it sort of caught fire, and we thought it could be a fun way to shake things up,” Callaghan said. “As soon as this idea came up, we started talking about what the next couple episodes could be and we got very excited about the way this change will affect the family dynamics and the characters.”

If you’re wondering why Brian got killed off instead of one of the kids, Callaghan has an answer for that, too. “As much as we love Brian, and as much as everyone loves their pets, we felt it would be more traumatic to lose one of the kids.” Needless to say, there are probably a few fans who would have rather seen Chris get killed off than Brian.

Watch Brian’s death scene below.

And, just like with anything else that happens that people are unhappy with, there is now a petition on Change.org to bring back Brian. So far, the petition has garnered more than 2,000 signatures.

The following was posted on the Family Guy Twitter page following last night’s episode:

#RIPBrian #familyguy pic.twitter.com/51vBZfdlhy

— Family Guy (@FamilyGuyonFOX) November 25, 2013

If you’re a fan of Family Guy, what did you think about Brian being killed? Add your comments below. As you can see from the Twitter comments, quite a few people were left disheartened with the decision.

How could they kill Brian on @FamilyGuyonFOX ??? Sad episode!

— Moises (@xBigMo) November 25, 2013

It feels & sounds so weird but I'm actually heartbroken over the the loss of Brian on Family Guy. I'm really sad.

— Kevin Déshaun (@NivekZier) November 25, 2013

but did family guy really kill off brian? if so, i'm upset about it

— Kay OD (@Kerryyannn) November 25, 2013

[Image via Twitter]