'Bad Vegan' Sarma Melngailis reveals her beloved dog Leon has DIED - eight years after her celebrity-loved eatery fell into RUIN amid her bizarre quest to give the pup eternal life

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Bad Vegan star and disgraced celebrity chef Sarma Melngailis has revealed that her beloved dog Leon has passed away - almost a decade after her restaurant empire went down in flames when she set out on a bizarre mission to give him eternal life.

Sarma, 51, shared the heartbreaking news via Instagram on Saturday, revealing that the Pitbull had died in the early hours of the morning on July 4.

'It’s happened. Time for this dreaded post about losing my best boy,' she wrote, alongside a carousel of images of the canine. 'He left his glorious furry container at 3 am, morning of July 4.'

Sarma wrote that he hadn't been 'doing well' in the days before his passing but that he had 'perked up' after she cooked some bison for him.

'I didn’t think his time would be so soon, until around midnight when I realized it may be his time,' she continued.

Bad Vegan star Sarma Melngailis has revealed that her beloved dog Leon has passed away - almost a decade after she set out on a bizarre mission to give him eternal life

Sarma, 51, shared the heartbreaking news via Instagram on Saturday, revealing that the Pitbull had died in the early hours of the morning on July 4

'[It's] harrowing and yet also painfully beautiful in a cycle of life way. But mostly painful. 

'I don’t have words yet for all of it... I have to get used to my new identity. I haven’t wanted to leave my apartment because then it’s somehow more real. I am a person, just me… my pup has left.

'Leon, I have no words for how much I love you. It was my honor to be your momma.'

Sarma is best known for launching the extremely popular New York City-based vegan raw food restaurant Pure Food and Wine in 2004.

But she became embroiled in controversy in 2016, when the restauranteur was arrested for fraud alongside her then-husband Anthony Strangis.

And her pup Leon was at the center of the controversy -  with Sarma claiming during the trial that she was drawn to Anthony after he told her he could make Leon live forever.

In an essay posted to her blog, Sarma expanded on the Pitbull's final hours, and she explained that he had started 'throwing up a lot' in recent weeks.

'He'd been throwing up a lot but generally I'd learned that keeping his water to a small amount at a time and what food he'd eat also to small amounts, he'd be OK and have plenty of barf-free days. But yesterday he was barfy,' she wrote of his last day. 

Sarma is best known for launching the extremely popular New York City-based vegan raw food restaurant Pure Food and Wine (seen) in 2004 

But she became embroiled in controversy in 2016, when the restauranteur (left) was arrested for fraud alongside her then-husband Anthony Strangis (right)

And her pup Leon was at the center of the controversy - as she claimed during the trial that she was drawn to Anthony after he told her he could make Leon live forever

She claimed that Anthony convinced her to give him the restaurant's earnings so that the dog could become immortal

'He didn't appear to be in serious pain, but who knows. Throughout the day he seemed generally uncomfortable; he didn't want to go out for his midday walk and laid down in the lobby.

'Then he perked up, tail wagging, when the neighbor's puppy came by. But when he also didn't want to go for his last nighttime trip outside, it felt more serious.

'Overall, it just seemed like a rough day for him but I still thought he'd be all right. He was more spaced out than usual, more disoriented. 

'At bedtime he seemed finally comfortable and settled in but shortly after I lay down I heard him throwing up again, after he'd already done so before bed. 

'He seemed more distressed than usual. After cleaning up I sorted myself to lay next to him, half on his bed, as close to him as I cold get. 

'His head was resting on a pillow but he wasn't closing his eyes, staring straight ahead at the wall.'

In an essay posted to her blog, Sarma opened up about the pup's final hours, and she explained that he didn't have energy to go on a walk. He's seen hours before his death

She said she laid with him until she eventually dozed off but 'woke suddenly' when he started 'gasping for air'

She said that while the grief is 'immense,' she feels 'honored to endure it for the privilege of having been his human'

Sarma explained that Leon looked at her 'in a way he never had' before, like he was 'astonished by something.'

'The way he looked at me... it wasn't the usual calm serene dog eyes, or pleading eyes when there's food around, or any eyes I'd seen from him (or anyone) before,' she continued. 'It was like he was communicating to my soul with urgency, or something.'

She said she laid with him until she eventually dozed off but 'woke suddenly' when he started 'gasping for air.' 

'I knew I was witnessing his death. I didn't sense he was in pain so much, but rather a sort of desperate breathing... I urgently repeated my "I love yous" through sobs and finally he arched his head back and took a final gasp and then released and relaxed and I knew he'd left,' she shared.

She said that while the grief is 'immense,' she feels 'honored to endure it for the privilege of having been his human.'

'I'm eternally grateful that I was with him, awake and next to him to witness and go through the experience with him,' she added. 

'There was no euthanasia, this happened naturally in the middle of the night, but I had a sense it was coming soon and then it did, swiftly, sooner than I thought.'

Sarma was branded as the 'Queen of vegan cuisine' after she launched the upscale vegan restaurant Pure Food & Wine in 2004, and it quickly became a celebrity hotspot.

Sarma's restaurant was beloved by stars like Chelsea Clinton, Tom Brady, Alec and Hilaria Baldwin, Owen Wilson, and Woody Harrelson. She's seen with Woody and Jason Lewis

She plead guilty to various fraud charges and was sentenced to four months behind bars. She's seen during the trial 

It was beloved by stars like Chelsea Clinton, Tom Brady, Alec and Hilaria Baldwin, Owen Wilson, and Woody Harrelson - but in 2015, the restaurant guru's empire came crashing down when she suddenly disappeared with $2 million, leaving staff unpaid and investors out of pocket.

The restaurant shut down in July of that year, and she and her then-husband Anthony, 44, were later arrested.

She plead guilty to various fraud charges and was sentenced to four months behind bars. 

As for Anthony, who she divorced in 2018, he served one year and was released in 2017. 

Sarma claimed during the trial that Anthony conned her into funneling her restaurant's funds to him by promising to make her beloved dog immortal. 

She said he told her that her that Leon had been his dog in a previous life and the three of them had all been living together for a thousand years.

Her story was retold in Netflix's 2022 docuseries Bad Vegan: Fame. Fraud. Fugitives.