Kelsea Ballerini's 'soul dog' dead

Bang Showbiz on Jan 9, 2026

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Kelsea Ballerini's dog has died.

Dibs passed away on Wednesday (07.01.26) - more than a year after he was diagnosed with cancer - and the 32-year-old country singer announced his death on Instagram the following day with a series of videos and photos of her beloved pooch throughout his lifetime.

Kelsea captioned the post with: "My sweet dibs went to doggy heaven yesterday. He spent his last few days in his backyard looking at the sunshine and surrounded and visited by his forever people.

"There are no words to articulate his role in my life, but i couldn't have done the last ten years without him, and he will always be my soul dog…and i pray and believe we'll find each other in every life.

"His love and reach can't be captured in an instagram photo dump, or in a caption, but here's a look at some happy from dibs. (sic)"

The Cowboys Cry Too hitmaker went on to thank her fans for adoring Dibs as much as she did.

Kelsea continued: "Thank you for loving him so loudly with me. i feel like the luckiest girl in the world that i got to be his dog mom, greatest gift of my life. (sic)"

The Grammy nominee's fans rushed to the post's comments section to express their condolences.

One person penned: "Sending you all the love in the world KB. Dibs was truly a king and the bond you two had was the most beautiful thing. Sorry for your loss (sic)."

A second user typed: "Kelsea- I'm sending you all the love your way. I'm so sorry for your loss. And I'm wrapping you in the biggest hug (sic)."

And a third supporter wrote: "Im soo sad for you, so many hugs and prayers. He will also be watching over you (sic)."

Kelsea posted several cute shots of the pooch, including when Dibs accompanied her to The Voice set in 2018, when Kelsea was the fifth coach on the NBC singing competition.

More recent photos included when he sported a brown bandana that had "My Mom Is My Entertainer of the Year" emblazoned on it - seemingly a reference to when she was nominated in the 2025 Entertainer of the Year category at the Academy of Country Music Awards.

And videos included Dibs walking with Kelsea to a private jet, wearing an "I Love NY" shirt, and listening to his mom as she said: "Mom is going on tour. Dibby are you gonna come to shows?"

The Miss Me More singer also announced Dibs' death on his dedicated Instagram account.

Captioning a photo of him and Kelsea bundled up in blankets as they sat under stars, it read: "I'm cancer free now, and my last days were so happy.

"My mom and my aunts and dad and grandma are going to show you a lot of my life on this page because I have so many pictures and videos that we all wanna share. Also, love you and thank you. (sic)"

In August 2024, Dibs received an "inoperable cancer" diagnosis after doctors found cancer in his heart.

At the time, Kelsea revealed on Instagram: "He's not in pain, and luckily it hasn't spread further. We're going to start him on the 'big' meds to try to make sure he can have as many comfortable and happy days (weeks, months) left as possible."

And in September 2025, Dibs underwent an unexpected surgery.