James Middleton and More Celebs Whose Dogs Helped Them Through Dark Times

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.” [jwplayer gwFuTPD9-zhNYySv2] 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.”

Cheryl Burke has also relied on her canine companion during difficult times. The Dancing With the Stars pro, who filed for divorce from Matthew Lawrence in February 2022, later found comfort in her French bulldog while navigating her new normal.

“Ysabella, my French bulldog, she saved my life,” Burke said in a TikTok video that March. “She has made me leave my chair and go outside into nature. She just reminds me that the world doesn’t revolve around me.”

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. [podcast_block]

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.” [jwplayer gwFuTPD9-zhNYySv2] 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.”

Cheryl Burke has also relied on her canine companion during difficult times. The Dancing With the Stars pro, who filed for divorce from Matthew Lawrence in February 2022, later found comfort in her French bulldog while navigating her new normal.

“Ysabella, my French bulldog, she saved my life,” Burke said in a TikTok video that March. “She has made me leave my chair and go outside into nature. She just reminds me that the world doesn’t revolve around me.”

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. [podcast_block]

One month after the Dancing With the Stars pro confirmed her split from estranged husband Matthew Lawrence, she opened up about how she likes to “feel her feelings” with the help of her trusted canine companion.

“Ysabella, my French bulldog, she has saved my life," Burke explained in a March 2022 TikTok video. “She has made me leave my chair and go outside into nature. She just reminds me that the world doesn’t revolve around me.”

“🐶❤️Crucio (always tries to lick my tears) ❤️,” Bryant captioned an emotional January 2022 Instagram video while lying in bed with her furry companion.

Prince William’s brother-in-law also has dogs Inca, Luna, Zulu and Mabel at home.

The Bachelor alum and Tartick adopted Ramen in June 2019 after he was found on the street “in Korea with broken bones.”

The late Dog the Bounty Hunter star enjoyed a “pups and pizza night” with her dog Duke in February 2019 during her cancer battle.

The actress called Norman the “love of [her] life” in November 2019, writing on Instagram: “This guy has saved me in more ways than I can explain. #adoptdontshop.”

The Paralympian’s guide dog supported her every step of the way during her Dancing With the Stars journey, watching each rehearsal. Umstead is almost completely blind, explaining on the show: “I have no central vision and I have no peripheral vision, so I can see a lot of light when it’s bright, but it’s hard to go from light to dark because I black out. The little vision that I have is extremely blurry.”

The actor referred to himself and his dog, Dodger, as “dysfunctional codependents” in a February 2019 Valentine’s Day post.

"She calms me down when I need it," the Jersey Shore star told Us of his pit bull in April 2018.

The former Bachelor's dog, Bastian, "has been there through all of the ups and downs of" his relationship and life, he captioned a March 2018 Instagram post.

The Saturday Night Live alum met her dog, Reggie, on “what was maybe one of the worst days” of her life, she told Stephen Colbert in 2016.