Jay is not exactly the most lovable character from the get-go, right? I mean, the guy has some serious issues when it comes to showing his love for his kids, Mitch and Claire, and he doesn’t exactly respect Gloriaโs Colombian traditions either.
Here’s the thing: Jay may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but we can’t help but love him for his character growth over the seasons. From struggling to connect with his children to becoming a super cool fur dad to Stella, this guy has come a long way.
So, for all you fur parents out there, get ready to relate hard because we’ve got some seriously awesome scenes of Jay and Stella that’ll make you want to give your own fur baby some extra love today.
Ignoring the โNo Dogs in the Bedโ Rule for Stella
Okay, let’s get one thing straight, thereโs a golden rule in every household: NO DOGS IN THE BED. I mean, who wants to wake up with fur in their mouth or a nose full of dog hair and get an intense allergy the next day? Me, of course.
That’s why dog hair removal tools are a must-have for every pet owner. Plus, some owners don’t want their pooches to develop separation anxiety, which is why they keep them out of the bedroom at night.
But Jay is a total rebel. Most nights, he sneaks his furry friend, Stella, into bed with him because he thinks she gets scared at night. Who can resist those puppy dog eyes anyways?
Even funnier, in one episode, Gloria’s snoring was so loud that Jay and Manny couldn’t sleep for days. So what did Jay do? He booked himself into a hotel after a meeting in San Francisco just to get some peace and quiet. Now that’s dedication to a good night’s sleep.
But when it comes to Stella, Jay doesn’t even mind her snores, he even thinks itโs cute. It’s like he loves her little quirks and embraces them all; you might even say that he loves her more than Gloria.
Jay Quickly Gave Stella a Towel (But Not Gloria!)
Let’s talk about Stella and her love for the pool. This girl just can’t get enough of that water! At one point, Jay even started to worry that she was trying to end it all with all the jump-ins.
But here’s where things get interesting. In some episodes, we see that Gloria isn’t the biggest fan of Stella. However, in this particular episode, we see a different side of her. When Gloria hears Stella falling into the pool, she doesn’t hesitate to jump in and save her furry frenemy. Who knew Gloria had such a soft spot for dogs?
But hold up, when Jay enters the scene and sees that both Gloria and Stella are drenched, he immediately grabs a towel… but not for Gloria. Nope, he goes straight for Stella!
Of course, Gloria gets all fired up because it seems like Jay cares more about his dog than his own wife! Let’s just say things got a little tense between these two lovebirds. But hey, at least we know that Stella is one loved pup, saved by Gloria and pampered by Jay!
Showering With Stella
In season 3 episode 3, Gloria is upset that Stella chewed one of her shoes and demanded Jay discipline “that stupid dog.” Whoa, lady, her name is Stella, alright? Things escalated a bit, and Gloria and Jay went into an argument about all the doggy cupcakes and how Jay doesn’t experience this because he doesn’t leave his shoes lying around, implying that Gloria is at fault, all while Jay was in the shower.
Then as Gloria told Jay to stop coddling Stella, Stella barked, and we discover that she was in the shower with Jay the whole time! Gloria left in disbelief, and a funny expression on her face as Jay tries to justify that it was funny seeing Stella try to drink the shower water. Yeah, real cute, Jay.
Dreaming of Stella
Imagine being Gloria and hearing your husband moaning and groaning in his sleep, muttering the words “ooh baby” like he’s in the throes of passion. Well, that’s exactly what happened to poor Gloria one fateful night.
But did she sit back and let it slide? Oh no, not Gloria! She decided to take matters into her own hands and give Jay a good old-fashioned spanking to wake him up from his dream. It’s understandable that this has hurt Gloria. Who wouldn’t be worried if they found out their hubby was having dreams about someone like that? So, the next day, Gloria gave him the cold shoulder.
Of course, Jay played it off like it was all a nightmare about their little one, Joe. But later on, he confessed to the cameras that he was actually dreaming about (to no surprise) Stella!
Jay Almost Went Crazy When He Thought He Was Losing Stella
Itโs hard to let go of a pet, especially one that loves you back! Sometimes even the thought of giving a pet up for adoption might be too hard in itself, even if your pet will go to someone trustworthy. Well, Jay found himself in that situation when Joe suddenly gets a rash all over his body. After a while, Gloria thought that Joe must be allergic to Stella. Of course, being a loving fur dad, Jay refused to get rid of Stella.
Although, when it comes down to it, he knows he had to get rid of Stella, so he gave her to the hilarious duo Mitch and Cam. But even after a few days, Joeโs rash didnโt seem to go away, and they found out that he was actually allergic to Gloriaโs new lotion.
As soon as Jay realized what happened, he shamelessly left Gloria and Joe to get Stella home; sure, it was cold and weird for him to do that, but I would probably do the same!
Jay Created a New Company in Honor of Stella
When Jay retired and handed over his closets and blinds company to Claire, he suddenly had a ton of free time on his hands. Being the businessman that he is, he became bored almost immediately. He then came back out of retirement and started helping Claire at his old job.
As time went by, Jay eventually left Claire to make way for her since she’s been feeling like she was not the boss but the boss’ daughter. Before leaving the company, Jay was found doodling all day. It turns out Jay wants to get into a new business, and he ventured into the pet bed business! Of course, Stella was the inspiration for the company.
But while they had a hard time getting the company off the ground, everyone pitched in to help; Manny helped with the marketing, Joe surprisingly showed his early talents in sales, and even Gloria, who didnโt like Stella too much, pitched in and helped Jay out when their dog beds werenโt doing so good on TV.
With Gloriaโs help, Jay opened up about how much he loved his dog and instantly became more sympathetic and ended up having a ton of callers interested to buy dog beds.
Successful or not, the dog bed venture was a passion project for Jay, and it showed just how much he loves Stella!
Attending a Fancy Dog Party
So, picture this: Jay, the tough and pragmatic guy who usually prefers to keep to himself, shows up at a dog party! And not just any dog party, mind you – it’s a bark mitzvah! That’s like a Jewish coming-of-age ceremony but for dogs. Can you believe it?
Now, most people would be like, “No way, Jose, I’m not going to a party for dogs.” But with Stella in tow, Jay is willing to go to the ends of the earth and beyond. He’s a man on a mission, and that mission is to celebrate his furry friend’s big day in style.
And let me tell you, this scene from Modern Family is just too cute for words. Seeing all those dogs dressed up in their finest yarmulkes and little suits, noshing on treats, and frolicking about… it’s enough to melt even the toughest of hearts. However, Gloria couldn’t handle the sheer craziness of the dog party and had to bow out early.
But hey, to each their own, right? We all have our limits when it comes to dog-themed celebrations.
Joining a Dog Show
Like attending a fancy dog party, joining a dog show is just one of those things that you would never understand unless you have a cute pooch like Stella! In season 5 episode 21, thatโs exactly what Jay did, but it wasnโt a breeze. He was entirely nervous doing the whole thing and even lied to Gloria about getting his tires rotated when he actually was getting Stella a show collar.
He even had a hard time negotiating if someone else can show Stella around because he was still not comfortable doing this. I mean, itโs just nice that he would do all this just for the sake of having Stella experience a dog show.
At the end of the day, Mitchell convinced Jay to do the dog show anyways, and the entire family even came to the show!
Getting Stella a Valentine’s Gift
In season 6 episode 14, Gloria invited her sister, Sonia, to come over to try and fix their issues as sisters, but Soniaโs flight was delayed, and she had to stay over on Valentine’s night. Now that means a ton of drama later on, but Jay deemed his valentines night with Gloria to be ruined by Sonia, and according to him, โI had a little chuckle, I got the dog a gift.โ So he did, but as he was trying to find Stella, he stumbled on Sonia, who was sad about being single on Valentine’s Day, so he ended up giving Stellaโs gift to her.
It was the perfect excuse for a gift as well, it was a dog necklace with an S pendant, S for Stella, but of course, that can also mean Sonia!
Whatโs worse is Stella was giving him an awkward stare as if she knew that gift was for her not for Sonia, and itโs sort of sad to see Jayโs excited face turn into a face of regret.
But getting Stella the gift in the first place shows how spoiled Stella really is with her loving fur dad!
Jay Heading Home Early to Cook Stella a Steak
In the same episode when he thought heโll lose Stella, Jay went into a little competition with Cam after seeing Stella being pampered and spoiled in their household as well. So when Gloria thought Jay came home early from work to cook them a steak dinner, she was disappointed once again to discover that Jay was cooking the steak for Stella instead. In his words, he said he wants Stella to remember who loves her the most. Heโs fighting to have his dog recognize him, not Cam!
I know itโs a bit too possessive of an attitude, but it shows once again just how much Jay loves Stella, and I would probably do the same, as well!