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From Danny Devito to Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Love for Pets Baffles Hollywood Superstars

Published 03/17/2024, 10:00 AM EDT

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76-year-old Hollywood star Arnold Schwarzenegger absolutely adores animals. In fact, he has several of them as pets. The bodybuilding icon’s love for animals extended beyond the most common pets like cats and dogs. The Austrian Oak has a pig, donkey, miniature horse, and dogs, and several of Arnie’s co-stars have given accounts of meeting Schwarzenegger’s pets.

While the bodybuilding icon always loved pets, he has grown his family of four-legged friends in the past decade. From Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Twins co-star Danny DeVito to Hollywood rival-turned-friend Sylvester Stallone, anyone who has been to Schwarzenegger’s home has loved being around animals. Additionally, Arnie’s animals even became internet famous in 2020.

The eccentric pets of Arnold Schwarzenegger

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As a former champion bodybuilder and Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger is an icon to millions around the world. The 80s action icon’s pets are just as eccentric and iconic as he is. In 2020, during the worldwide lockdown due to the COVID pandemic, the bodybuilding icon did interviews from his home (like everyone else). However, during these interviews, a new internet sensation was born.

via Getty

Lulu, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s beloved donkey, started crashing interviews. Soon, Lulu became internet famous, and fans asked Arnold Schwarzenegger to post more about Lulu. However, Lulu wasn’t the only pet who got attention. The Austrian Oak also started posting about Whiskey, the miniature horse, and his dogs Dutch, Schnitzel, and Cherry.

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People loved them, and since then, Arnold Schwarzenegger started posting about his furry family. In 2023, Schnelly the pig joined the 76-year-old Hollywood star’s ever-growing pet paradise. Ever since the pets of the Schwarzenegger household became famous, Arnie’s friends and co-stars also started talking about their experiences.

Sylvester Stallone and Danny DeVito’s hilarious meetings with Arnie’s pets

Sylvester Stallone, who visits Arnie’s home from time to time was quite bewildered to meet The Terminator’s pets. During an episode of the Paramount+ show The Family Stallone, the Rocky actor reacted to meeting Schwarzenegger’s pets. While visiting the bodybuilding champion in his office, Stallone noticed Lulu and Whiskey enter the office.

While the Rambo star thought Arnold Schwarzenegger might have dogs, he wasn’t ready to meet a miniature horse and donkey. Stallone’s hilarious response resonated with the surprise he felt. “Wow, I didn’t know you had house guests. You know I have heard of house pets but seriously,” said the 77-year-old. However, the former governor just let out a chuckle.

Sylvester Stallone also opened up about the encounter during an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. The actor couldn’t understand the “fuzzy things in his office,” at firstStallone even joked how he never understood how Arnold Schwarzenegger keeps a secretary who is on with animals roaming around the office. Danny DeVito’s recent recounting of meeting Arnie’s pets is equally hilarious.

The 79-year-old veteran comedian said Arnold Schwarzenegger and him are reuniting for another film. The unlikely duo created box-office gold with Twins in 1988. Decades after starring together in Junior, DeVito told Fox News about the upcoming project. He also recalled meeting the governor’s pets and the especially memorable one with Whiskey.

“I know all the animals,” said DeVito. He also recalled his failed attempts at feeding Whiskey. “You know, the horse bites me when I try to feed him,” said the actor. However, it seems he gets a lot more chances to succeed when he starts filming with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Yet why does the bodybuilding legend have such unusual taste in pets?

Arnold Schwarzenegger has always loved animals

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The bodybuilding legend grew up in Thal, Austria, with animals. The 76-year-old once revealed that everyone in his family, including him, had cats. Growing up, the young bodybuilder also interacted with his neighbors’ pets and farm animals. So the country boy from Austria liked everything from cats and dogs to cows.

In America, when he was using his kids and acting, Arnold Schwarzenegger instilled his love for animals into his kids. His eldest child, Katherine Schwarzenegger, is an advocate for the adoption of shelter animals. In fact, Katherine was the one responsible for bringing Whiskey and Arnie together. Besides Katherine, the FUBAR star’s physiotherapist girlfriend, Heather Milligan also shares his love for animals.

Milligan was the one who united Arnold Schwarzenegger and Schnelly the pig. Hence, it’s no surprise that Schwarzenegger’s love for animals extended beyond the common house pets like cats and dogs. Although the Mr. Universe winner doesn’t keep exotic pets, he’s even had an elephant and a tiger inside his property.

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“I’ve had an elephant at my house – it got scared and cracked one of my pillars. I’ve had a tiger – it swam in my pool…” the Austrian Oak recalled. Thus, it’s no surprise that Arnold Schwarzenegger’s love of unusual pets has baffled his co-stars. However, Schwarzenegger has shown that all animals are worthy of love through his diverse furry family.

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Written by:

Sagnik Bagchi

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Sagnik Bagchi is a senior bodybuilding writer at EssentiallySports. A passionate fitness enthusiast himself, Sagnik uses his knowledge of bodybuilding to focus on the coverage of major events like the Mr. Olympia and Arnold Classic.
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Edited by:

Snigdhaa Jaiswal