White Shepherds in the Media: Yes, You Have Seen Them Before
When I first got Arie, I had a lot of people who said at first “Wow, I never knew they came in white!” The novelty of her breed made her get a lot of attention, with people often mistaking her a husky, or asking if she was albino. When I really got into understanding Arie’s breed and what it meant for her to be a White German Shepherd Dog, I discovered something. We’ve been staring at White German Shepherds EVERYWHERE. We just never took notice.
White German Shepherds have been in the media for years, but have gotten a great amount of press in recent decades. Did any of you see the movie Getting Away With Murder with Dan Aykroyd? Well, a WGSD named Nikki was a character alongside of him.
Nikki was the shepherd you see here with the rest of the cast from the movie.
Perhaps the most iconic White Shepherd to hit the media of late would be Bolt, who’s lovable Disney character has actually been credited with a boom in the breed, that both hurts and helps our cause. While the breed is getting positive attention rather than the “you’re a genetic failure” or “Shepherd? RUN!” that are more typical, it also saw a population rise that landed more WGSD in shelters due to breeders going overboard with puppies.
Look at that pup and tell me he's not a White German Shepherd........(Liar).
WGSD haven’t just made it into the hearts of millions through their feats in Hollywood: They’re in the homes of Hollywood as well. Maggie Q, the well-known action-ready star of CW’s Nikita has a beloved White Shepherd, as well as an affection for dog breeds that usually get a bad rap for being “aggressive” breeds (speaking of which, have you checked out Adopt A Less Adoptable Pet Week?). In her interview with Modern Dog, Maggie even said that if she were a dog, she would probably be “a cross between my two favourites; a Pitt and a German Shepherd”.
Maggie Q, pictured here with her White German Shepherd, Ladybird. Photo via Modern Dog Magazine
Even people with a less than tough reputation can love a stereotyped aggressive breed. Miley Cyrus, the young pop singer and star of the movie The Last Song, recently got a White German Shepherd puppy, named Mate.
Miley, pictured here by Just Jared, walks an enthusiastic Mate. Photo via Just Jared Jr.
Finally, America’s sweetheart, Jennifer Anniston, also has a WGSD pup in her brood. Anniston is well-known for her lovable dog Norman, who just recently and very sadly passed away. Anniston also had and still has another dog, Dolly, a White Shepherd. The actress’s love of canines is well-known, and is definitely apparent in photos of her walking her pooches:
Jennifer Anniston, in this photo via People Pets, walking Norman and Dolly.
What other Hollywood White Shepherds can you name? Tell me your star sightings in a comment.
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life with arie 
Neil Gaiman, the author of American Gods the novel, and the Sandman comic book series (amongst many others, but those are my favorites!) has two white German Shepherds. One is Cabal (named after King Arthur’s dog) who was a farmer’s dog that kept running away, that Gaiman found on the side of the road, gave back, and ended up able to keep. Lola (like the Kinks song), he got on Petfinder. I don’t know how searchable they are, but his “gotcha” stories for both are on his blog. They’re lovely!
That’s so interesting, I’ll have to look them up; Thanks, Jen! I also found a WGSD that had been featured in a either an old TV show or movie of some sorts of what seemed to be a white version of a Rin-Tin-Tin like character, but couldn’t find it when I needed to write the post. Don’t you just hate when your bookmarks fail you? 🙂
I’d forgotten about Bolt. Cute movie, but I do hate the spike in popularity/subsequent dropping off in shelters that always results when a breed becomes popular.