EVEN MORE UNUSUAL CELEBRITIES PETS

SALVADOR DALI’S OCELOT

Surrealist artist Salvador Dali was an eccentric man, so it

shouldn’t be too surprising that he had an unconventional pet

to match his personality. Dali owned an ocelot named Babou.

He travelled everywhere with his feline companion. At one point,

Dali brought Babou to a swanky New York restaurant and tied him

to the table leg. A woman protested the fact that a wild animal was

allowed into a dining establishment, but Dali explained that it was

only a cat he’d painted in op-art style. Embarrassed, the woman

agreed that the animal was indeed a domestic cat.

GEORGE CLOONEY’S POT-BELLIED PIG

George Clooney may not be able to maintain a stable human

relationship, but his relationship with his pot-bellied pig,

Max, lasted 18 years. Originally a gift for his former girlfriend,

Kelly Preston, Max was once a tiny little pig. However, he grew

to be over 300 pounds and ate as much as an NFL line backer.

Although Clooney built him a shelter a few yards away from

the main house, Max often slept in Clooney’s bed.

He died and went to hog heaven in late 2006.

AUDREY HEPBURN’S DEER

While filming Green Mansion in 1959, Audrey Hepburn adopted a

pet that complemented her graceful demeanour. The film’s animal

trainer suggested she take the baby deer from the film home so

that it would learn to follow her. Hepburn agreed and the two

immediately bonded. The baby deer, which she named Pippin,

cuddled with her and accompanied her on errands in Beverly Hills.

She loved Pippin so much that she kept her post-production.

TYCHO BRAHE’S MOOSE

Sixteenth century astronomer Tycho Brahe should’ve consulted

the stars. Maybe if he did, he could have predicted the tragic death

of his pet moose. Brahe let his moose run free at parties and

consequently, it drank more alcohol than the humans in attendance.

One night, the moose drank so much beer that it became

intoxicated and fell down the stairs to its death.

PARIS HILTON’S KINKAJOU

We all know Paris Hilton is partially responsible for starting the

trend that led to small dogs being dressed up and carried in purses,

but the heiress also owns more exotic pets. Her kinkajou, named

Baby Luv, gained attention in 2006 when it bit her. Maybe it was

trying to protect itself from being dressed up like one of

her prissy pooches.

LORD BYRON’S BEAR

Most people think of Lord Byron as a famous poet, but few know

that he was also a badass rebel. He brought his dog from home

with him when he began his education at Cambridge. Much to

his disappointment, he was forced to send his dog home

because keeping it was against the rules. In defiance,

he perused the rule book to find an animal that was not expressly

forbidden. Eventually, he found a loophole and ordered a bear.

The animal lived with him in the dorms and he regularly took it for

walks around campus (on a leash, of course). Although the bear

frightened the students and professors, nobody could make

Byron get rid of his pet because bears were not mentioned

in the rule book.

TEDDY ROOSEVELT’S WHITE HOUSE ZOO

The arrival of the Roosevelt family turned the White House into a zoo.

The family obviously loved animals, as they kept a guinea pig,

a one-legged rooster, a hyena, a zebra, ponies, lions, and

bears at the presidential dwelling. The animals were always

welcome inside the White House. In an effort to cheer up Archie,

his sick brother, Quentin Roosevelt once brought a pony into the

elevator and upstairs to pay him a visit.

KING GEORGE I'S "HUMAN PET"

If you think you’ve read about the oddest pet already, think again.

King George I definitely wins the award for strangest pet ever

(sorry, Charlie Sheen!). It is said that the king kept a

“human pet” named Peter for many years. The feral boy was

discovered naked and living in a North German forest in 1725.

At about age 12, the boy could not speak, walked on all fours,

and fed on grass. Unsure of what to do with him, the villagers

imprisoned him until George I stumbled upon him during a visit.

Fascinated by the boy, the king named the boy Peter and took him

to his summer palace, where the boy wore expensive clothes and

dined with the king. He later joined the monarch at court, but he

had trouble adjusting to civilization. Modern geneticists who have

studied the Peter’s portrait think he might have been autistic or

suffered from a chromosomal condition called Pitt Hopkins Syndrome.

The king later retired Peter to a farm, where he died at about age 70.