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Red carpet life for celebrity pets
They stroll the red carpet, pose for the paparazzi and even hit the evening talk shows. Such is the pampered life of a celebrity pet.
Nicollette Sheridan: “For Christmas he flew in a private jet and then took a helicopter and then was on a four-wheeler the next day.”
Extravagant? You bet. But Oliver, the pampered pup of "Desperate Housewives" actress Nicollette Sheridan, is hardly the most spoiled pooch of the Beverly Hills pet set.
Wendy Diamond: “I think Paris Hilton's dog is the most pampered in the sense of clothes and everything.”
Wendy Diamond's "Animal Fair" magazine always features a pet loving celebrity on the cover. She says Paris Hilton's Chihuahua Tinkerbell is definitely living the doggy diva life.
Diamond: “Tinkerbell is a little like Paris, you know, loves to go out at night, get dressed in skimpy outfits.”
Roker: “In dog training, is it just as important for the human, in a way, to be trained as their dog?”
Tamar Geller: “Completely. Otherwise, your dog may listen to me but they are like [waves finger] for you.”
Geller, a former intelligence officer for the Israeli army, teaches famous clients like actor Michael Vartan, who stars in the hit show "Alias," how to reinforce good doggy behavior.
Michael Vartan: “Every time she does something, I praise, and I can't do it on camera, because you'll think this guy is a lunatic.”
Roker: “Oh come on, you’ve got to do it.”
Vartan: “Like you know if she sits down, ‘good sit!’"
Millie, Vartan's year and a half old chocolate labrador, accompanies him to the set of Alias every day. But Vartan, who grew up in France, claims the whole pet pampering thing is just a little beyond him.
Vartan: “Very rarely in Europe would you see a dog wearing a little coat or socks or whatever.”
Roker: “Or a Mets collar.”
Vartan: “Or a Mets collar. You're right. That's a good point. Touché.”
Millie does sport a special collar honoring Vartan's love of the New York Mets baseball team and Vartan confesses he also owns this doggy DVD. That's right, a DVD made exclusively for canine viewing.
Roker: “She watches it?”
Vartan: “Oh my God. She stares at this video like she's there.”
Still, Vartan says his puppy love definitely has its limits.
Roker: “Are you a dog owner who leaves messages on the answering machine for your dog?”
Vartan: “No!”
Roker: “No?”
Vartan: “I'd never thought of that! But my God, I will start. That's fantastic.”
Nicollette Sheridan is another Geller client. The long-time dog lover graces the cover of Christopher Ameruoso's new book, "Pets and Their Stars" with her 8-year-old dog Fatty Princess. But now there's a second doggy love in her life: Oliver, that 7-month old golden retriever.
Sheridan: “The moment I got him, he had me wrapped around his little puppy pad. Let me tell you.”
Roker: “What kind of things do you do to spoil Oliver?”
Sheridan: “We took a bath together.”
Roker: “You took a bath with your—“
Sheridan: “We're very close.”
Roker: “You're very close.”
Sheridan: Yes.”
So close that in January the sexy actress ran out of her house naked to rescue Oliver from her freezing pool.
Sheridan: “I had a very high fever, and whenever I have a very high fever I will take on cleaning tasks in the house--
Roker: “So you're doing housework with a high fever.”
Sheridan: “Yeah.”
Roker: “Naked?”
Sheridan: “Yes, and the next thing I see is this little black nose and these black eyes in the pool. I thought, ‘Oh my God.’ So, yeah. I ran outside, jumped in the pool, and saved him.”
Roker: “From what I gather, he didn't really need saving?”
Sheridan: “He's a golden retriever. He's a water dog.”
Roker: “So Oliver is a real water baby. Does he swim everyday?”
Sheridan: “Yes. He comes in completely soaking wet, shakes all over me and the furniture.”
Roker: ”Does that thing”
Sheridan: “That was very good. That's exactly what he sounds like. Do it again. I love it. Very good. Did you see that?”
Sheridan wanted me to see just how well her darling Oliver could swim, but he refused to play along. So clothes and all, Sheridan showed him how it's done and he finally got the hint.
And it's not just dogs that celebrities go ga-ga for. NBC Today Show entertainment correspondent Jill Rappaport's best selling book, "People We Know, Horses They Love," reveals the intense bond stars like Robert Redford and Kelsey Grammar form with their horses.
Jill Rappaport: “They're in such a hectic, wild, red carpet world. These animals take them back down, not to sound corny, but back down to nature and to the basics where they can just be themselves.”
Christie Brinkley: “I just love seeing the world from the back of a horse.”
Covergirl and avid horse-lover Christie Brinkley says there's just nothing like being in that saddle
Christie Brinkley: “You’re so in touch with everything, the sound of the birds and the way the breeze brushes up against you.”
Some stars prefer something more slippery brushing up against them, like L.A. Clippers basketball player Mikki Moore, who has a thing for reptiles.
Roker: “Oh my God. That's a big snake!”
Mikki Moore: “I can't get him off right now.”
Roker: “Wow, he likes bling.”
The bling-loving snake is just one of four Moore keeps in his L.A. apartment.
Roker: “Your big snake. Could he kill you?”
Moore: “Yeah. He could sneak up on me and strangle me.”
Roker: “See, that's what I want in a pet.”
Moore says he likes snakes because they're easy, no pampering required.
Roker: “So you don't have any sweaters for your snakes?”
Moore: “No, no sweaters, no little trinkets for it to play with. None of that. Here's a rat for you, here's some water…have a nice day.”
Yep, in L.A. that's just the way it goes. Some pets living in the lap of celebrity luxury get cashmere sweaters and red carpets; others get only water and the occasional brush with bling.
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