Did Family Guy Kill Off Brian?

From E-Online:
After more than 11 seasons of laughing along with the Griffin family, we thought we had seen it all on Family Guy—but we were dead wrong.
In Sunday night's mind-blowing episode of Seth MacFarlane's animated hit series, audiences were shocked to discover that Brian, the canine companion who has been in each and every episode since the pilot, was hit by a car and died. We're serious, you guys. 
It gets worse. Earlier in the episode, Stewie dismantled his infamous time machine. Now the pint-size genius cannot get the necessary vital parts to repair it, thus losing the possibility to save his best friend's life. Confession: We have no shame in admitting that a cartoon made us cry tonight.
To help make sense of the stunning series changes that took place over a mere 22 minutes, we chatted with executive producer Steve Callaghan to figure out what on earth is going on in Quahog. From the decision that led to Brian's death, to reactions from the cast, and the new Sopranos-inspired pup who will be taking Brian's place in the opening credits, read on for all the exclusive details that you won't find anywhere else!
We can't believe that Brian is gone! What led you to make this crucial decision for the series?
Steve Callaghan: Well, this was an idea that got pitched in the writers room and it sort of caught fire, and we thought it could be a fun way to shake things up. As soon as this idea came up, we started talking about what the next couple episodes could be and we got very excited about the way this change will affect the family dynamics and the characters.
Why did you decide that Brian had to be the one to go and not one of the other characters?It seemed more in the realm of reality that a dog would get hit by a car, than if one of the kids died. As much as we love Brian, and as much as everyone loves their pets, we felt it would be more traumatic to lose one of the kids, rather than the family pet.
How did long-time Family Guy actors, Mila Kunis and Seth Green, react once they learned that Brian would die in tonight's episode?I think they were glad it wasn't them. [Laughs.] I think they were surprised, as anyone would be, and I think they were pretty stunned especially this far into the show. They were as shocked as anyone.   http://www.eonline.com/news/484172/family-guy-s-shocking-death-boss-reveals-why-they-decided-to-kill-off-spoiler
I think it sucks because Brian was probably my 2nd favorite character, just behind Peter.
Kind of funny, though, the one true liberal gets killed while the conservatives on the show live on.