Millie Elder-Holmes' puppy love

Millie Elder-Holmes with her new puppy Morrie, named after her boyfriend Connor Morris who died recently following an assault. Photo / Instagram

Bereaved Millie Elder-Holmes has a furry new companion to help her heal after the death of boyfriend Connor Morris.

She already has a tattoo of her dead lover on her thigh and now Elder-Holmes, 26, has a puppy that she has named "Morrie" in his honour.

She Instragrammed several pics of her cute sidekick this week, captioning the pictures: "puppy love".

Morris, 26, died after a confrontation outside a west Auckland party last month.

Elder-Holmes, the daughter of late broadcaster Sir Paul Holmes, held her partner of six years as he lay dying.

The 33-year-old man accused of murdering the Headhunter associate will stand trial next year. He has name suppression, despite opposition from Morris' family.

The judge originally declined name suppression for the man, but his lawyer appealed that decision, ensuring automatic suppression.

The Morris family have rallied together to get public support to sign a petition to lift the name suppression; so far it has more than 12,000 signatures.