Sarah Michelle Gellar pays tribute to Shannen Doherty

Sarah Michelle Gellar paid tribute to her close friend Shannen Doherty following her death.

On July 13, the pop icon died after a nine-year battle with breast cancer.

Doherty’s spokeswoman Leslie Sloane said PEOPLE the StThe devoted daughter, sister, aunt and friend was surrounded by her loved ones and her dog Bowie.”

In an Instagram post on Monday (July 15), Gellar celebrated “30 years of friendship” with several photos of the iconic duo together, along with a heartfelt caption about how best to honor Doherty.

“I always remind myself that it only hurts so much because there was so much love,” said the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Stern wrote.

“Thank you for all your kind words and support. I love all the messages about how important @theshando was to you. So let’s honor her. More than anything, Shan loves animals, especially dogs.

“In their memory, let’s support our favorite animal welfare organizations. Whether it’s by donating money, by visiting the local animal shelter and offering to pet and walk the animals housed there, or simply by tagging the animals in the comments so other people can learn about their work.”

“I know this would make our girl happy (and give her that deep, throaty laugh we all love so much),” Gellar concluded before providing a link to the Lange Foundation in his comments.

Doherty was best known for her role as Heather Duke in Heather (1989), Brenda Walsh in Beverly Hills 90210 (1990-1994) and Rene Mosier in Mallrats (1995), all of which had a significant impact on pop culture.

Between 1998 and 2001 she played the role of Prue Halliwell in Charmedwhich is widely regarded as one of the best fantasy series in history. Her character has also been celebrated as one of the most iconic witches of all time. ⁠

After Doherty’s heartbreaking death, many of her Charmed Co-stars spoke their tributes, including Brian Krause (Leo), Ted King (Andy), Dorian Gregory (Darryl), Finola Hughes (Patty) and Jennifer Rhodes (Grams). ⁠
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Rose McGowan, who replaced Doherty as Halliwell’s long-lost sister Paige Matthews in season 4, described her as “one of the most tender-hearted daredevils there ever was”: “A force of energy that will live on in hearts forever.”

Alyssa Milano, who played Phoebe Halliwell Charmed – Magical Witches In a statement, which aired for the series’ eight seasons, it said: “It’s no secret that Shannen and I had a complicated relationship, but at the core, this was someone I deeply respected and was in awe of.”

Doherty’s film brother in 90210, Jason Priestly described her as a “force of nature.”

“I am shocked and saddened to hear of the passing of my friend Shannen… She will be missed. Sending love and light to her family during this dark time.“ he wrote.

You can find more honors for Shannen Doherty here.