If you hated when the ratcatcher Cheese kicked his dog in House of the Dragon season 2 episode 1, and cheered when the little fella got vindicated in the next episode, wait till you find out about the real star behind the canine character that upstaged his co-actors!

In case you didn’t know, the dog’s name is Bobby, and show fans were more upset about him being kicked in the episode than the other gruesome things that happened in it! Thankfully, actor Sam C. Wilson, who plays the city watch sergeant Blood in the episode and was one of the dog’s co-actors in the scene, revealed that Bobby the dog was not actually kicked. Wilson also revealed that Bobby was a “sweet little thing” who had quite the fancy vanity van (his kennel) when they were shooting.

But here’s another recent revelation: Bobby the dog wasn’t always such a diva, and has truly worked hard to get to this place. Turns out, before his acting career, the dog used to live on the streets in Cyprus and was malnourished. He was rescued by a charity, and soon after, adopted by a Hollywood animal trainer, Julie Tottman, who has been known to put up rescues like him for movie roles.

And it sure looks like her trained eye spotted a diamond in the rough, didn’t she? Because Bobby turned out to be a star. She had him audition for a role in a Disney film, and he got the part. Let me do the grand reveal for you in case you haven’t figured it out already—Bobby played the shaggy canine sidekick of Emma Stone’s dalmatian-chasing Cruella De Vil in Disney’s Cruella (2021)!

(Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)

Back when Cruella was released, Tottman had revealed in an interview with Mirror UK that Emma Stone really loved working with Bobby and even wrote him a thank you note. Isn’t that cute! Fans of Bobby the dog are now commenting on a picture him Tottman shared on her Instagram, asking if he is indeed the dog from House of The Dragon.

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A post shared by Julie (@julie_tottman)

On X, HOTD fans are calling him a real actor and star. One X user called it a “wags to riches story” and honestly that’s a great way to describe how far Bobby has come!

This really has been an interesting month for animal actors. Bobby, of course, brought in a whole new fanbase with his HOTD stint, joining the club of beloved canine stars in pop culture like Messi the dog from Anatomy of A Fall. There was also Frodo the cat from A Quiet Place: Day One who had all of us sitting in the cinemas, teeth clenched and fingers crossed as he fearlessly accompanied Lupita Nyong’o’s Sam and Joseph Quinn’s Eric on their quest across a monster-filled New York City, hoping he survives.

Between all this and the knowledge that we could’ve had a cat parade in the Red Keep in House of The Dragon if they’d followed the book, I’m just dying to see more animals live their Hollywood dream!