Finding solace in their furry friends! James Middleton, Kaitlyn Bristowe and other celebrities have leaned on their dogs for support during tough times.
Duchess Kate’s brother gushed about his spaniel therapy dog, Ella, in October for World Mental Health Day, writing on Instagram: “This is Ella & these are the eyes which helped me get through the insufferable darkness. The gentle touch of your wet nose and a loving lick was enough to make me feel brave. I will forever be in your debt. Thank you Ella.”
The British entrepreneur’s sweet post came nine months after he wrote a candid essay about his battle with depression, which he described as “not a feeling, but an absence of feelings.”
“I know I’m richly blessed and live a privileged life,” Middleton wrote in his January 2019 Daily Mail op-ed. “But it did not make me immune to depression. It is tricky to describe the condition. It is not merely sadness. It is an illness, a cancer of the mind.”
The Boomf greeting cards cofounder added, “You exist without purpose or direction. I couldn’t feel joy, excitement or anticipation — only heart-thudding anxiety propelled me out of bed in the morning. I didn’t actually contemplate suicide — but I didn’t want to live in the state of mind I was in either. … It was impossible to let my loved ones know about the torture in my mind.”
As for the former Bachelorette, Bristowe noted the irony of how her and Jason Tartick’s Golden Retriever rescue dog, Ramen, ended up rescuing her. “[He] definitely helps with my anxiety,” the former reality star captioned a sweet selfie with her cute canine in September 2019. “Such a calm, funny, loving, sweet soul who loves to cuddle. He really is just the best.”
Keep scrolling to see more stars who have depended on their dogs during dark times, from Jersey Shore’s Vinny Guadagnino to Big Bang Theory’s Kaley Cuoco.