Katie catches up with Chenoweth and her rescue pup.
If your four-legged friend has always dreamed of seeing a Broadway show, unfortunately he’s most likely out of luck. Pets are strictly prohibited from Broadway theaters, with one exception: service dogs. And if you’re worried one of these professional pups might disturb your theater-going experience, don’t fret — service dogs are some of the most respectful audience members you’ll ever encounter. (Some even attend a service animal theater-training program, which gifted us with this paw-sitively adorable photo.)
Tony Award-winning actress Kristin Chenoweth is obviously no stranger to the Great White Way, either. In addition to a career as an author and TV and film actor, Chenoweth is best known for originating one of the most memorable roles on Broadway: Glinda the Good Witch from the musical sensation Wicked. With a thriving career and some of the most powerful pipes on the planet, Chenoweth exudes confidence and self-assurance, but she says appearances can be deceiving: “Anxiety is something I’ve covered up for many years,” she tells us.
That’s where Chenoweth’s service dog, Thunder, comes in. A seven-year-old cockapoo mix and fellow fan of the paw-forming arts, Thunder helps to ease Chenoweth’s anxiety. He also plays another huge role in her life: Chenoweth suffers from Meniere’s disease, an inner-ear issue which can bring on sudden bouts of vertigo. Thunder is trained to detect one of these attacks before it happens, so Chenoweth can be prepared.
Chenoweth and Thunder share another special bond: Both were adopted. This prompted Chenoweth to write a children’s book called What Will I Do with My Love Today? which tells the story of a little girl who has been adopted and her rescue pup named — you guessed it — Thunder.
Of her adoptive parents, Chenoweth says, “I won the lottery.” As she writes in the book, “No matter how life has brought us together, adoption means family, and family’s forever.” If Thunder could speak English, we imagine he’d wholeheartedly agree.
Shelters across the country continue to struggle with overcrowding and resource constraints. Despite a growing awareness of the many benefits pets bring, from companionship to increased well-being, more than six million pets enter U.S. shelters each year. In the United States, the number of stray pets arriving at shelters has increased 26 percent since 2021. Mars Petcare has a long history of supporting pet adoption through its impactful work with shelters, rescue organizations and adoption events throughout the year – all part of their ambition to end pet homelessness.
Just last year, Mars Petcare’s annual Adoption Weekend event helped more than a thousand pets find loving, forever homes, with Mars Petcare covering the cat and dog adoption fees at partner shelter locations in fifteen cities across the US.
Mars Petcare’s PEDIGREE® brand is also committed to helping dogs in need find their forever homes through adoption-focused activations. Since 2008, PEDIGREE Foundation has donated more than $12 million in grants to shelters and rescue organizations to support animal welfare and help pets get adopted.
