Famous Celebrity Dogs

It’s a dog’s life… and wow! From strutting the red carpet to eating out at expensive restaurants, these dogs owned by a head of state, music divas and even royalty are sometimes more famous than their celebrity owners.

They have fans following them on their personal websites and fashion labels inspired by them. To keep the mutts in the public eye, several celeb owners also regularly tweet about the lives of their pets.

We’ve put together a list of some of the world’s most famous dogs that have made headlines. Click here to find out about their high lives.

By Rajeshni Naidu-Ghelani
(Posted: June 27, 2011)

Referred to as “the first dog,” Portuguese Water Dog Bo was gifted to the President Barack Obama and his family by Senator Ted Kennedy in April 2009.

Bo belongs to a hypoallergenic breed and was specially chosen because of eldest daughter Malia Obama’s allergies. The President had promised his daughters a dog during his election campaign. Bo is valued at $1,600, according to the President’s financial disclosure forms last year.

Four children’s’ books featuring Bo have already been published and he’s even traveled to Hawaii in December he went on vacation with America’s First Family.

Socialite Paris Hilton’s Teacup Chihuahua Tinkerbell has appeared in all five seasons of her reality TV show The Simple Life, often dressed in designer chic to mirror the heiress’ appearance.

A parody on Tinkerbell’s life titled “The Tinkerbell Hilton Diaries: My Life Tailing Paris Hilton” was released in 2004 by writer D. Resin. She also made headlines that year when she went missing for six days after Hilton’s house was burglarized. Hilton offered a $5,000 reward for the dog’s return. Details of Tinkerbell’s return were not publicized.

Hilton created a clothing line called Little Lily in 2007, which she said was inspired by dressing her 17 dogs.

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II has owned over 30 Corgis since her father, King George VI, brought home the first royal Corgis, Dookie and Jane in 1933.

In 1944, when Elizabeth was 18, she was given a Corgi named Susan, from which several offspring were bred. However, in 2009, it was reported that the Queen would no longer breed dogs after two of her pets died. Currently, the Queen has four Corgis named Linnet, Monty, Willow and Holly and three Dorgis named Cider, Candy and Vulcan. A Dorgi is a crossbreed between a Dachshund and a Corgi.

The Queen’s Corgis have their own “Corgi Room” and their daily menu varies from chuck steak to poached chicken or rabbit.

To celebrate Prince William and Kate Middleton’s royal wedding, cake designer Michelle Wibowo created a giant Corgi cake, setting a Guinness World Record for the largest dog-shaped cake at four feet high and weighing about 150 pounds.

Britney Spears’ Chihuahua Bit Bit shot to fame in 2004 when the singer hit the red carpet at an awards show with the tiny dog wearing a $100,000 diamond-encrusted collar.

In those days Spears led the trend of owning “accessory dogs.” She dressed up Bit Bit in faux mink coats, and the dog had a “princess bed” to sleep on. Despite, all this pampering, Spears was named the worst celebrity dog owner of the year in a 2006 magazine poll for treating her dogs like accessories.

That was followed by some highly publicized, erratic behavior in 2007 when the pop star reportedly let her new Yorkshire terrier puppy poop on a $6,700 Zac Posen dress during a photo shoot.

Oprah Winfrey has often used her talk show to highlight the plight of homeless and abused animals. When her pet of 13 years, Cocker Spaniel Sophie (pictured) died in March 2008, she paid her an emotional tribute on the show, saying the dog was her true love and made her a kinder, gentler person.

Oprah often puts out updates on the health of her dogs on her website. Last year on her 56^th birthday, the talk show queen bought herself two 14-week-old Springer Spaniels named Sunny and Lauren.

Elton John reportedly owns over 20 dogs including border terriers, an Irish wolfhound, a Labrador, German shepherds and Spaniels.

The singer is often seen on the red carpet with his Cocker Spaniel Arthur (pictured). The dog was reportedly the best man at the Elton John’s 2005 wedding to filmmaker David Furnish.

The couple owns three other American Cocker Spaniels including Marilyn, who is Arthur's "wife" and their daughter Isobella. Arthur also made a guest appearance in the singer’s 2006 album The Captain and the Kid and is mentioned in the album credit as Arthur: woof-bells.

Jessica Simpson’s dog, five-year-old Daisy, made headlines in 2009 when the singer said the Maltese poodle (Maltipoo) had been snatched by a coyote in L.A.

Nick Lachey, her husband at the time, gave Simpson the dog in 2004. Daisy appeared on the former couple’s reality TV show Newlyweds and was often photographed being ferried around in a Louis Vuitton dog carrier. The dog has even appeared on-stage during Simpson’s concerts.

The singer has recently spoken about being a “new mom” to fiance Eric Johnson's Airedale terrier Bentley.

Mariah Carey has four Jack Russell terriers.

The oldest named Jack (pictured) was a gift from Carey’s ex-husband and record executive Tommy Mottola. Jack has made many cameo appearances in Carey’s music videos such as Dreamlover and All I want for Christmas is you. He also appeared in the movie Glitter and has three fan websites dedicated to him.

In 2005, Jack was prevented from flying in first class with Carey because of his size. In March of this year reports surfaced that Carey had put all her dogs in therapy to help prepare them for the birth of her twins. 

Tennis sister duo Venus and Serena Williams bring their dogs to the court after they win a match and are often seen in the stands with their dogs while they watch each other play.

Venus has a pair of Cavalier King Charles spaniels and a Havanese, while Serena has a Jack Russell terrier and a Maltese.

In 2007, after winning the U.S. Open for the first time, Serena said she splurged and bought a Jack Russell terrier named Jackie from a pet store in New York. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey Serena said, “I don’t know which was a better souvenir, the title or Jackie.”

Jessica Alba is often photographed dining, shopping and walking the streets with her two pugs named Sid and Nancy. She also has a rescued American bulldog, Bowie, whom she named after musician David Bowie.

An avid animal lover, the actress came under fire in 2009 after photos surfaced of her plastering posters of a great white shark across several locations in Oklahoma City to bring awareness to the shark’s dwindling population. Alba later apologized to the city for the vandalism and wasn’t charged in the case.

For the comfort of her dogs, Alba hired a designer to create a special room for her pets, which includes a lawn made from synthetic material.