Emmy-nominated and SAG award winner Sherry Stringfield is a true mother at heart. While raising her brood, Stringfield never thought she would add a family dog into the mix until her eldest daughter, Phoebe, got bit by the animal-loving bug. “Since my daughter was two-years-old she begged for a dog and I never really wanted one because I’m allergic, not to mention I had two little kids and it would just be too much.” Luckily for her daughter (who currently wants to be a Killer Whale trainer at Sea World when she grows up), Stringfield is good at making compromises. “I told her she could get one when she turned six, which sounds like turning 1000 to a two year old. Then all of the sudden she was six and she had been asking me about once a week for those four years, so I just had to.’”
Acting as the superb mother that she is, Stringfield followed through with her promise and soon their Poodle, Max, joined the family. She even let her daughter name the dog – with certain reservations. “I asked her what would you name a girl dog and she said Cupcake, so I was like ‘we’re getting a boy. Soon enough Stringfield realized that adding Max into the family meant having another child. “I slept with him, I woke up every three hours to make sure he could go to the bathroom and eat, and I guess after six months I was sleep deprived and totally insane, I realized – this is my third child, my third baby. My joke is the most complicated relationship I have with anything is with Max.”
As a television actress one would believe that Stringfield has worked with a lot of dogs. Stringfield spent years working with George Clooney on ER but firmly believes he’s not a “dog” at all, admitting, “A dog plays games with people. I find George to be a very straightforward, honest man.” But if Max was famous (as Stringfields kids believe he will be), he would be more of one-named diva extraordinaire, “He’s kind of like Cher… he’s just Max,” Stringfield told Animal Fair as she warbled off some lyrics from Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves. Max’s greatest talent is not for singing though; he’s quite the jumper.
Stringfield also gives back to the animal community… as a family. She and her daughter work with Los Angeles’s non-profit animal rescue Much Love each week, but Phoebe finds extra time to help animals twenty-four seven. “Phoebe has the most amazing animal radar,” Stringfield gushed, explaining that Phoebe can spot a lost dog flyer and know exactly where the missing canine is, adding “I swear, she’s found four dogs!”
For more information visit: MuchLove.org.
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