25 Celebrities Who Adopt And Rescue Pets Instead Of Buying Them

Some celebrities buy designer accessories, and others open their homes to animals that need a second chance. This list highlights stars who chose adoption and rescue over shopping for pets, and the result is a mix of heartwarming, surprising, and sometimes very crowded households.

From shelter dogs to animals rescued from the streets, these celebrities have used their fame to shine a light on pet adoption. Their stories show how one decision can help more than one animal, and why rescue pets often become the real stars of the family.

Here are 25 celebrities who proved that giving a pet a home can mean a lot more than buying one.

1. Zooey Deschanel & Dot And Zelda

Zooey and her boyfriend decided to get her a dog because she had never had pets before. However, they ended up adopting two dogs because Zelda and Dot were sisters. It would have been traumatic to separate them.

zooeydeschanel

2. Liev Schreiber & Woody, Willow And Scout

Liev has three rescue dogs: Woody, Willow, and Scout.

lievschreiber

3. Zac Efron & Maca

Zac rescued a pit bull named Maca from a shelter in Los Angeles. Maca was scheduled for euthanasia when the shelter staff rescued her. Soon after that, Efron came in and adopted her.

zacefron

Some of these celebrity homes are basically small animal kingdoms.

4. Charlize Theron & Johnny Utah, Berkley

Theron is a passionate supporter of animal rights because she grew up on a farm in South Africa. She collaborates with numerous animal rights organizations and has several rescue dogs.

charlizeafrica

5. Arnold Schwarzenegger & Dutch

Schwarzenegger adopted a now 1-year-old dog named Dutch during the pandemic. The dog was named after his character in the movie Predator, leading to a joke about how the Terminator adopted the Predator.

schwarzenegger

6. Drew Barrymore & Douglas, Lucky, Peach

Barrymore has rescued more than ten animals throughout her life. In 2017, she saved Douglas, a dog abandoned during the San Fernando Valley fires, and one year later, she and her daughters wanted to adopt a kitten. Instead, they adopted three: Lucky, Peach, and Fern.

drewbarrymore

7. Justin Theroux & Kuma

Justin Theroux is an animal lover and a long-time advocate for bully breeds. He has tattoos of two of his previous dogs and has collaborated with Austin Pets Alive. During that work, he heard about Pooch, a dog that was severely injured during Hurricane Harvey, and ended up adopting her.

justintheroux

8. Taylor Swift & Benjamin

This is Benjamin Button, Taylor Swift’s adored ragdoll cat. Taylor noticed him on the set of one of her music videos, and she immediately fell in love and adopted him. Now, he lives with Taylor and her two other cats, Meredith and Olivia.

taylorswift

That is a lot of star power for one pet list.

9. Kellan Lutz & Koda

Kellan has been a passionate advocate for pet adoption instead of buying pets. He even appeared in animal adoption campaigns with his other dog, Kola.

kellanlutz

10. Lea Michele & Sheila

Michele once saved a litter of six kittens that she found wandering around Paramount Studios while filming Glee. She adopted two of them, Sheila and Claude, and gave the others to Heather Morris and Glee’s directors.

leamichele

11. Luke Bryan & Kimmie

Luke owns an animal rescue that he founded in memory of his late niece, Sadie. He also cares for more than 20 various animals in his home, including ponies, chickens, dogs, and goats…

brettsbarn

12. Selena Gomez & Winnie

Selena Gomez has rescued seven dogs so far. She currently lives with six dogs: Willie, Baylor, Chip, Chaz, Wallace, Fina, and Winnie.

selenagomez

13. Eva Mendes & Lucho

Eva Mendes adopted a dog named Lucho from the Friends For Life Rescue Network.

evamendes

And the rescue stories just keep getting better from here.

Heartbreaking parallels to the adopter who rehomed their puppy after their partner’s severe allergies.

14. Chris Evans & Dodger

Evans first met his dog Dodger in an animal shelter that was used as a set for one of his film projects. At first, he didn’t realize that these were real rescue dogs available for adoption. He and Dodger clicked, so he decided to adopt him. Their first meeting was even captured on video.

chrisevans

15. Anne Hathaway & Kenobi And Esmeralda

Hathaway adopted a terrier named Kenobi, who joined her chocolate lab, Esmeralda.

annehathaway

16. Ryan Reynolds & Baxter

“I saw this big, dumb-looking retriever staring up at me… I whispered to him, ‘Hey, let’s get the hell out of here.’ And he jumped up, as if he spoke English fluently. He came with me, jumped in the car, and we’ve been best buddies ever since,” Reynolds said in an interview with ABC News.

vancityreynolds

17. Chelsea Handler & Bert And Bernice

Previously, Handler had two chow chows, Tammy and Chunk, who were adopted from kill shelters. Sadly, they both passed away. To honor them, she adopted two new chow chows and named them Bert and Bernice.

chelseahandler

18. Josh Hutcherson & Driver

Driver is a dog who had a rough start in life. He lost two of his toes, and one of his legs was broken when Josh decided to adopt him. He received the surgery he needed and is now living happily ever after with Hutcherson.

jhutch1992

19. Hilary Duff & Lucy And Ivan

Hilary and her partner, Matthew Koma, adopted an older dog named Lucy in 2018. Sometime before this adoption, they also acquired an alpaca named Ivan.

hilaryduff

20. Hilary Swank & Lucky, Karoo, Rumi And Kai

Hilary Swank has four rescue dogs named Lucky, Karoo, Rumi, and Kai. She owns her own animal shelter, and through it, she has saved and found homes for thousands of dogs.

hilaryswank

21. Simon Cowell & Daisy, Freddie, Squiddly, Diddly

Simon has four dogs: Squiddly, Diddly, Freddie, and Daisy. They were all adopted.

simoncowell

22. Amanda Seyfried & Finn

While working on Big Love, she noticed a stray Australian shepherd; she took him in and named him Finn. They are helping each other now. She says her anxiety attacks are rare now, and he couldn’t be happier in his new home.

mingey

23. Brooks Laich & Koda

Brooks adopted Koda from a shelter back in 2018, and he joined Lexi and Harley, the King Charles spaniels. Unfortunately, they have since passed away.

brookslaich

24. Rachel Bilson & Thurman Murman

Thurman Murman is Bilson’s newest dog. The shaggy grey dog is now best friends with Bilson’s other dog, Penny. Interestingly, Thurman Murman has his own leash wardrobe.

rachelbilson

25. Jennifer Aniston & Clyde And Lord Chesterfield

Aniston recently adopted Lord Chesterfield. She posted a photo of him asleep with a bone in his mouth—so cute! He has become friends with Aniston’s other dogs, Clyde, her Schnauzer mix, and Sophie, her pit bull.

jenniferaniston

It is hard not to root for a list like this.

Before you judge Zooey adopting Zelda and Dot, see this senior-versus-puppy rescue dilemma: WIBTA for refusing to share my adopted senior pet with a partner’s puppy preference?