Celebrities & Their Pets
To celebrate National Pet Day on April 11, our favourite stars share stories of their paw-fect pets
WORDS: CLAIRE SAUL IMAGES: SHUTTERSTOCK
Emilia Clarke
The Game of Thrones’s “Mother of Dragons” is now “mum” to the less scary Ted, a dachshund.
“He physically cannot stop being the most beautiful pu the entire world. Everyone meet Ted,” raved actress Emilia, soon after the little chap came into her life.
On celebrating his second birthday, Emilia presented him with a home-baked cake complete with candle. Ted attended the party in a blue ruffled collar and party hat.
“I mean, look at him,” she said on social media. In a photo of “the man of my life” showing Ted looking up, bright-eyed and attentive into the amera lens, she wrote, “Ted wants you to know you are loved.
“Or he wants your sandwich.”
Shania Twain
Country superstar Shania Twain is almost as famous for her love of horses as her music.
In fact, her twin passions have often combined, with horses featuring in her videos, and even making guest appearances in her live shows.
“Horses calm me. I love being around them. They smell great, they are beautiful to look at, they are loving, demanding, temperamental, and they settle you,” says Shania, who also indulges in her equine passion to keep fit when she is off duty.
“When I’m not on tour I like horse riding. If I’m not riding, I’m walking or staying busy.”
Salma Hayek
This glamorous actress is a well-known animal lover and of her many pets, perhaps the most unusual is Kering, the southern white-faced owl.
Kering was brought into the home as a Valentine’s gift for husband François-Henri, and she has since has become very close to the beautiful bird, which even sleeps with her when he is away from home.
“She comes and snuggles . . . sometimes in the middle of the night. She lands on my head. It’s a little bit jarring, but I’m kind of used to it,” says Salma, adding, “Just being in the same room [with her] there’s an energy to it, and it is mesmerising.”
Katherine Jenkins
Wel sh singing superstar Katherine welcomed two little rabbits into the family home in 2020, named Duchess and Potter. Katherine had originally inten
