David Gallagher Says 7th Heaven Episode Where Dog Happy Gets Hit by a Car 'Was Really Heavy for Me'

Stars from 7. heaven saw the happy faces of fans smiling back at 90s Con Florida.

David Gallagher, Catherine Hicks, Beverley Mitchell, Mackenzie Rosman and Barry Watson gathered at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Fla., on Sunday, September 15, to reflect on their hit show in a panel moderated by PEOPLE TV editor Dory Jackson. 7. heaven ran for 11 seasons from 1996 to 2007 and followed a reverend and his wife as they go through the ups and downs of raising seven children of various ages.

One important cast member who didn’t attend Con Florida in the ’90s: the Camdens’ family dog ​​Happy. But the stars remembered the beloved pup, who died in 2010 at the age of 15.

“We all loved Happy,” Mitchell, 43, said.

Rosman, 34, chimed in: “She was a very good dog.”

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Mitchell revealed that series creator Brenda Hampton wrote the role of Happy specifically for the rescue pup. “Brenda saw Happy, she loved Happy, she wrote the show for Happy,” the actress said with a laugh.

Gallagher (39) revealed that Happy didn’t really like life on set after all.

“Happy was afraid of the crew members on the set because there are always around 100 people around us that you never see why we are filming,” he said. “Every time we were filming, everyone had to change, the crew would run in, Happy would get nervous about that. But since Happy and I worked every day, she would stay with me. I would often take Happy with me as we cleared out and we’d get back in our sneakers and rest.”

Due to his close relationship with Happy, filming the episode where she was hit by a car in the first season (and survived) was particularly difficult for Gallagher.

“I just remember coming home and going to bed after doing the scene where Happy gets hit by the car. That episode was really hard for me,” Gallagher said. “There were certain episodes that stuck out and required you to give it your all, an honest shot, and try to connect with the emotions. And you’d drive home from work that day and feel devastated. That’s the hardest job. If you get it right, it’s the work you’re most proud of.”

‘Stars of the 7th Heaven’ (clockwise from left) David Gallagher, Jessica Biel, Barry Watson, Beverley Mitchell and Mackenzie Rosman.

Celluloid Planet/Alamy

Rosman shared her own challenge she experienced during filming 7. heaven at a young age. “They gave me a flute because Ruthie was supposed to play the flute,” she recalled. “And I was proud of myself for making him make noise.”

Hicks, who played Camden matriarch Annie, was proud of her on-screen daughter as she also learned to play her flute.

“She was 6 years old!” – said 73-year-old Hicks. “Sometimes I think I’ve overlooked your performances. She was tiny.”

Hicks had a four-year-old child at home when she started filming 7. heavenand she told the crowd at the ’90s Con Florida that she sometimes felt guilty for daughter Catie spending more time being a TV mom than a real one. “I was kind of rough and unfriendly to those kids because I always felt guilty about not being home,” Hicks claims. – So, I wasn’t good to them.

However, Mitchell said: “That’s not true. I thought you were wonderful. I always had a great relationship with you and I never thought you were mean to us. I thought you were busy and you had to get to Catie.”

Mitchell and Rosman also spoke on Sunday, September 15, about why they decided to leave the series after season 10.

“I was ready to do something else with my life, to experience being a normal kid at school with other kids my age and we weren’t kids anymore,” Rosman said. “I wanted to be a high school senior with other seniors there. That was my main hesitation, I wanted to allow myself a normal childhood experience.”

‘7th Heaven’ stars (clockwise from left) Jessica Biel, David Gallagher, Catherine Hicks, Beverley Mitchell, Barry Watson, Mackenzie Rosman and Stephen Collins in 1996.

Warner Bros TV/Kobal/Shutterstock

Mitchell also wanted a typical school experience and attended Loyola Marymount University. The mum-of-three said she wanted to “be a normal kid and live in a home” but “it was a bad idea”.

“I became the head mother for the entire dorm,” Mitchell explained. “That only lasted a year. I decided to go back to work.”

Gallagher reflected on retiring from the show when he enrolled at the University of Southern California.

“When I got into USC’s film school, I told the production company that I could take some time off, schedule college classes and work four days, one day on set,” he said. “But I had to do USC full-time, not full-time. That’s why we had that recap where I came out, and then at the end of that season, my freshman year, they hit me ‘Are you going to come back to do the finals, just one day?’ “Sure, I’m fine with that.” Then they picked us up again, ‘Hey, crazy idea, we think we could work one day a week where you come and go to school full time?’ Then I was part-time during those seasons.”

The show’s eleventh and final season coincided with Gallagher’s senior year of college. “I just kind of wanted to finish my senior year and be in school and be present, keep that experience to myself,” Gallagher said. “So I wasn’t there for season 11. I just wanted to be a student and see what it was like.”

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In April, Gallagher, Mitchell, and Rosman announced a rewatch podcast, Catching up with the Camdens.

“It has been over a decade since I revisited my life on the show,” Gallagher said in a statement shared with PEOPLE. “The best part about this way of working is that it gives us all a reason to reconnect with each other. It feels great to spend time with family again.”

Mitchell shared the overwhelmingly positive reaction to the cast’s reunion at 90s Con in Connecticut in March, prompting her and her former on-screen siblings to team up for a podcast.

“Growing up as an only child, these people have always been my family. After Con 90, it was clear that there was still a lot of love for the show among the fans, so why not get the gang together,” Mitchell said. “And honestly, it’s like we never left. We really are a family and I’m thrilled to be able to relive some of my favorite and sometimes embarrassing memories.”

Rosman also said at the time that working with Gallagher and Rosman again felt natural.

“Reconnecting with these people who I love so much and with whom I literally shared my entire childhood, feels like the most natural thing in the world,” she said.

‘7th Heaven’ stars (clockwise from left) Mackenzie Rosman, Barry Watson, David Gallagher, Beverley Mitchell and Catherine Hicks.

Presley Ann/Shutterstock

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Catching up with the Camdens launched in June and featured a mini-reunion with Watson, 50, when they spoke to him in a two-part episode that aired in July and August. Watson, who played the oldest brother in the series, recalled how he had previously struggled financially 7. heaven pre-produced.

“I remember having to borrow money from my manager at the time because I couldn’t pay my bills until I got paid for the first episode,” Watson told Mitchell, Gallagher and Rosman on the July 22 episode. Catching up with the Camdens. “And I remember, you know, Mary still liked to say, ‘I don’t know why you wanted to do this.’

Along with a reunion of the Camden clan, 90’s Con Florida also saw acts Beverly Hills, 90210, Enchanted, Full house, Melrose Place and Sabrina the teenage witch get together during the weekend.

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90s Con Florida runs through Sunday, September 15th at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida.

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