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Jennifer Aniston is known for her love of rescue animals, but she recently revealed that her first dog came into her life in an unexpected way—through the set of Friends.
During her September 10 appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the Morning Show star, 56, recounted the story of Norman, her beloved Welsh corgi-terrier mix, who passed away in 2011 at age 15. She explained that Norman first appeared in Season 2, Episode 6 of the sitcom, "the one where Joey and Chandler babysit Ross' baby, Ben, and they lose the baby. They left the baby on a bus."
Aniston told Colbert that in the episode, "They're running through New York City streets, trying to find the bus that they left the baby on, and you know how New York has these wonderful dog walkers with 20 dogs on leashes. Norman was one of those dogs."
At the time, Aniston was considering adopting a dog and approached the on-set trainers. "I said to the animal trainers on the show, 'If there's ever a dog you want to give up for adoption, or a dog that is available for adoption, I'm looking,'" she recalled. The trainers told her, "We do actually have a dog who we are going to retire because he's very stubborn, he doesn't do what we tell him, and he never hits his mark."
That stubborn pup was Norman. "So, I retired him, and he became mine," Aniston said. He was just one year old when she adopted him, and the bond between them lasted until his death. The actress still honors him today with a tattoo of his name on her foot.
Although Norman is gone, Aniston continues to be a proud dog mom. She currently has two rescues—Lord Chesterfield, a Labrador, and Clyde, a Schnauzer mix. Clyde has even inspired her latest project, a children's cookbook titled Cook with Clydeo: A Cookbook for Kids. She explained that the cookbook has fun and simple recipes for parents to make with their children.
The book, now available from HarperCollins, supports animal rescue initiatives through The Clydeo Fund and will be followed by Clydeo Versus Peanut Butter later this year and Clydeo Makes a Friend in 2026.
