Denise Richards is mourning her dog, Scooter.

The 44-year-old star's beloved pet pooch passed away on Tuesday (16.06.15), five years after she adopted him, and a year after he had his leg amputated due to cancer.

Posting a collage of photos honouring the mutt on Instagram, she wrote: ''Our gorgeous sweet Scooter passed away yesterday. Rescued him 5 yrs ago & he gave so much to our family. Lost his leg to cancer almost 1 yr ago & was stronger than ever. We miss him so much already. Beautiful soul ... #Scooter (sic).''

The news comes just a fortnight after the dog-loving 'Wild Things' actress posted other snaps of the canine companion online enjoying a stroll with her daughter.

She wrote at the time: ''Happy boy after his walk.. #Scooter (sic).''

And it's not the first tragic death to affect the family this year, after another dog named Gladys which she had also rescued died just three weeks after they took her in.

She wrote at the time: ''We lost our beloved Gladys...rescued her 3 wks ago, terrible situation tried everything to save her. Made a huge impact on our family..We miss her already.

''Thank u Dr.Rick, Heather, Jeff, Jamie, Stormie, lizette & @BFAS doing everything we could to save her..#Gladys (sic).''