Oprah Winfrey has announced a new partnership with the dog food brand The Farmer's Dog and opened up about her strong connection to canines. While promoting a new YouTube mini-series called Life is Better with Dogs, the 72-year-old media mogul revealed what her pets have taught her.
Lessons from Dogs
'One of the reasons why I actually believe I'm in the prime of my life is because I've learned presence from my dogs. I've watched my dogs, who are just living in the moment. They are fully present,' she told People magazine this week. The former talk show host added, 'I've learned to accept the aging process, too. I've learned even when you don't move as well and things go wrong, life is still good.'
She also reflected on the loss of her 'soul dog' Luke in 2018, saying it 'deepened my spirituality.' 'He had the biggest soul ever. I'm telling you, when I transition, Luke will be there to greet me,' Winfrey insisted about her beloved animal.
A Lifetime of Dog Companionship
Winfrey has cared for 21 dogs throughout her life and told the outlet, 'Dogs have always been the love of my life.' Her first pet was a black cockapoo named Simone, whom she saved her lunch money to buy while living with her mother in Milwaukee. She went to great lengths to keep the dog, even making up a story about a gym teacher and later claiming the dog thwarted burglars. 'I was going through a lot at that time and he was my one companion,' she explained. 'He was my refuge. Dogs have always been the friend in my life when everything else around me was falling apart. It was the dog that allowed me to hold on.'
When she moved to live with her father in Nashville at age 14, she brought Simone, but her dad did not allow the dog inside. 'The dog had to sleep under the house,' she remembered. 'I would come sit on the porch at night just to be with him.' She vowed that as an adult, she would have a dog in her home—and get the biggest dog she could find. At age 20, she moved out and got an Afghan hound named Kashmir. 'From then on, I've never been without a dog companion,' the star said.
New Mini-Series
Winfrey narrates each four-minute episode of Life is Better with Dogs, which spotlights the bond between dogs and their owners and is presented by the Oprah Podcast. The first episode features US Navy veteran Chad Brown, who found healing for his PTSD through his 11-year-old Labrador Axe.
