The yellow lab that once belonged to Nashville protagonist Deacon Claybourne was written off the show — and into star Charles Esten’s life.
Long-time Nashville viewers may recall that, way back during the first season, Deacon Claybourne (Charles Esten) received a dog as a birthday present from Juliette Barnes (Hayden Panettiere). But Deacon wound up giving the pooch — a male yellow lab pup he playfully named Sue — to Stacey (Susan Misner), his veterinarian girlfriend, as a kinda-sorta consolation prize when their love affair flamed out. (To be more specific: Stacey dumped him after she finally realized Deacon was never going to get over Rayna, so she settled for the dog.) And that was the last we ever saw of Sue.
But that wasn’t the end of the story.
“Stacey was right to take the dog,” Esten admits, “because Deacon was no good with a dog at that point in his life. But I'm no dummy — that was the best dog I ever saw, and I’d never had a dog in my life. So when the dog left the show, I begged for that dog. And they did give him to me. So now I own Sue.”
Except that he isn’t Sue anymore.
“Sue’s now named Blue,” Esten says, “so he won’t be confused.”
Blue turns 3 in October. And he’s still a happy, healthy part of the Esten family.
You can read more about cover man Charles Esten in our October issue, which hits newsstands September 1.