‘Family Guy’ shocker: They killed [SPOILER]!

Warning: This post contains spoilers for the Nov. 24 episode of "Family Guy."

One of the most prominent characters on "Family Guy" was killed off on Sunday night's episode, in a move that was certain to shock plenty of fans.

Yes, it's true: Brian the dog is no more.

In an episode entitled "Life of Brian," the Griffins' beloved pet was killed after being hit by a car. Brian will reportedly be replaced by a new dog named Vinnie, who will be voiced by Tony Sirico.

In a new interview with Ebuzzzblogspot! Online, executive producer Steve Callaghan revealed how the decision to kill of Brian came about.

"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," he said.

Throughout the series, Brian struggled as a writer and as both friend and foe to baby Stewie. In memory of his contribution to the series, we celebrate his five best moments:

One of Brian's best scene is from season 4, when Stewie beats up the family dog when he fails to pay off a debt. The gangster spoof was just one of many fight scenes involving this duo.

In the eighth season, Stewie and Brian travel to a "world run by dogs." In this memorable scene, Stewie tests out how much Brian likes role reversal by defecating on the street and asking him to pick it up.

MacFarlane's witty take on texting culture saw Brian going home with a university student he meets in a bar -- and subsequently adopting chat acronyms and shorthand to communicate with her. LOL!

Many fans thought it was a stroke of genius for MacFarlane to cast Brian as Chewbacca in his parody episode of "Star Wars" back in 2010. What did you think?

Bryan was famous for his epic puke fests. Considering how much we will miss him, it seems appropriate to end on this note.

R.I.P., Brian. You will be missed!