By all accounts, Dave Bautista is a solid dude. He’s a hard worker, reportedly a pleasure to be around on set, and just seems inherently likable. Well, Dave is also a huge dog lover who owns four pit bulls. Last week, Dave stopped by The Tonight Show while doing the promo tour for Dune: Part Two. Millie Bobby Brown had appeared on the show the day before Dave did, and at the start of her interview, she brought her dog, Winnie the Poodle, out on set with her. It was pretty adorable and Winnie was a very good girl during her mom’s segment.
Winnie must have really charmed Jimmy because he brought her up again during Bautista’s segment, prompting Dave to share the “gotcha” story for his white pit bull puppy, Talulah. Specifically, how he adopted Talulah from MBB with none other than Chris Pratt acting as the go-between. It all began last February, when Millie and Pratt were filming a movie together as she was trying to find someone to adopt Talulah.
Bautista, a hardcore dog lover who already owned three pit bulls at the time, told host Jimmy Fallon that Pratt “hit me up and he said, ‘I know you’re a fan of this breed, and my costar is trying to adopt her out.’ “
“And I said, ‘I’m sorry man, you know I’ve already got three,’ ” he said, adding, “I just kept looking at her picture, and I was just… I just fell in love with her.”
So, despite his nearly full house, Bautista decided to bring the white puppy home, and told Pratt to connect him with his costar — whose identity the Dune star did not yet know.
“He said, ‘Well let me hook you up with my costar, Millie,’ and I said, ‘Wait a minute — Millie Bobby Brown?’ “ Bautista recalled, adding that his reaction was, “No way!”
The actor, who adopted Talulah over a year ago, added, “I like telling people this story.”
“It sounds weird to me when I say, ‘And Chris Pratt hit me up, and I got my dog, you know, from Millie Bobby Brown,’ “ he told Fallon, adding, “I sound, like, super Hollywood.”
Bautista said he was also working on a film at the time, so he told Brown he would be home and able to grab the pup in a week, to which she replied, “Don’t worry about it, I’ll have someone drop her off.”
“So literally the day I got home — I was overseas in Rome — I got home, and I was there, and I waited, and these two guys showed up, like, in the middle of the night,” he recalled. “They drove her down from Atlanta, and dropped her off, and I took her in. She’s been with me ever since.”
And while Bautista said he has never actually met Brown in person, he did thank her for orchestrating the adoption when he first welcomed Talulah last February. The actor shared the news of the pit bull’s adoption in an Instagram post featuring several photos of the pup — including a family photo with Talulah, Bautista and his three other dogs.
“Hey all, I’d like you to meet the newest member of my Valentine’s day crew, Talulah Bautista!” he wrote in the caption. “Big love to @prattprattpratt for introducing me to @milliebobbybrown and @joeysfriends22 – Thanks to Millie’s love for rescue animals she made it all possible for me to adopt and give Talulah a forever home!”
“I’m so grateful, thank you! Welcome to the family Talulah!” he added.
Awww, looking at that picture of Talulah that Pratt sent him, I can see why Dave would have fallen in love with her. She’s so cute. I admit that I don’t know much about dogs, but my family did just adopt a kitten a few weeks ago after seeing her picture on a local rescue’s website. I completely understand the sentiment of falling in love with a potential new pet based on its picture alone. It’s also sweet that his ex-wife adopted Talulah’s litter mate, Delilah. Dave’s other pit bulls are Ollie, Maggie, and Penny, all rescues. Judging by the adorable pictures of the four of them on Dave’s Instagram page, little Talulah fits right in with the family.
You can watch Dave’s interview below. The story about Talulah’s adoption is at the beginning.
I love how protective he is of pitties as a breed. He really sees them as his kindred spirits. I adore Dave!
Well-trained, they are gorgeous, fun dogs! I’ve known some wonderful pitties at the dog park who play well with my heeler.
Good lord she’s cute.
And he looks absolutely gorgeous here too. Love the shirt ruffle!
As an actor, he is just great. So charismatic on screen, perfect comedic timing as Drax, excellent in Dune 2. I’m glad he seems like a genuinely good guy too. Hope he keeps getting challenging and interesting roles because he’s turning into one of my favorites to watch.
Same here. He also was in Blade Runner 2049 at the beginning, anywhere he pops up, I’m already interested. He has great presence on screen and it’s not just due to his size.
He’s really good. There’s a good interview with him on Michael Rosenbaum’s Inside of You podcast where he talks about his approach to acting. And he’s clearly an excellent dog dad.
Dave was on an episode of Smallville – S6.E8 Static -he played Aldar – now I have to go on Hulu and watch it.
It does my heart good to see that Dave is still the sweetie he was back when I knew him in the early 2000s. He was working in Ohio Valley Wrestling and I was starting to train there (before my knee said “bitch, NO”). He was easily the nicest one of the “big stars” working their way up to the WWE. I remember when he told a group of us that he was bidding on vintage lunch boxes on eBay…dude has a MASSIVE collection of them. He’s a dork, just like so many of us. 🙂
Wow what great gentle energy he has. Love it
I remember when he offered 20K reward to catch the person who carved ‘Trump’ on a manatee. Dave seems like a really sound guy and also a talented actor.
I totally get falling in love with the picture of a new pet! My crazy cat, Max, came to me just that way. I saw his picture on the local SPCA site and was like, “That’s the next member of our family!” We adopted him the following morning!
When you posted that blind about an a lister who requested a doggo friend I immediately thought Chris Pratt but it said ‘musician’.
He seems like such a lovely, secure guy…and the dog loving side is the heart-melter. Nice to hear someone be openly kind.
Not a fan of pit bulls. That may be controversial, but I’ve had some bad/traumatizing experiences with them. That said, I do appreciate anyone who loves dogs/animals and Dave seems like a very upstanding person.
Cute dogs! That’s so sweet he couldn’t resist and got another.
I guess MBB fosters and rescues? That’s awesome.
I posted back in November when my elderly rescue died. We adopted her at 11 and managed to get 16 months with her before her kidneys finally gave up. I was kind of obsessively looking at the pet listings on Craigslist and in late December someone posted this ridiculous looking dog. Small, elderly, and her face had gone white like a little skull mask. I tried to contact the owner and never heard back. Mid January I’m looking at the humane society AND SHE IS LISTED! I texted my husband, he left work early and two hours later we are on our way home with Lily. She had been adopted and fucking returned to the humane society three times in the last six months. Her goofy little gremlin skull face had haunted me for weeks and now she’s asleep next to me on the couch. So yah, love at first sight from a photo? Absolutely.
Bless you Liliysmama! That story is making me tear up. You are a wonderful person!
Aw, look at that happy little pack!