Brandon McMillan
Brandon McMillan, TV host of the CBS weekly series, Lucky Dog, is passionate about rescue.
Interview By Publisher, Susan Sims
Brandon McMillan, host of the weekly CBS TV series, Lucky Dog, is passionate about rescue and concerned over the epidemic of pets being euthanized in shelters across the United States.
As a young boy who grew up with exotic animals like tigers and bears in the house, Brandon learned compassion and understanding of animals at an early age. He sat down with FIDO Friendly magazine publisher, Susan Sims recently to talk about the success of his TV series, training animals and his latest project to train service dogs for wounded veterans.
FIDO Friendly » Congratulations on Lucky Dog being picked up for its second season, are you surprised at the shows audience being so receptive?
Brandon McMillan » I am and I’m not. I’m surprised at how fast the show has gained steam and the overwhelming support I’ve gotten from people all over the world for my mission. Having said that it never ceases to amaze me how dog lovers come together and stick together so strongly for such a serious cause. This mission is my everything. I pour my heart, sweat and tears into it. I just want to represent shelter dogs the way they should be.
FF » What is your earliest memory of growing up with animals?
BM » I must have been two and my mother was feeding a baby tiger in one arm and she had me in the other. We were both her babies. We grew up together. I remember walking around the house when I was a little kid probably three years old and we would have baby tigers and bears walking around us. It was normal; it wasn’t a strange house. At first if you walked in there you would think it was like Ace Ventura; that was just the norm. We had a house full of exotic animals. You name it, my parents trained it.
FF » Did you think as a young person you were looking at any of these animals as pets or were you instructed otherwise?
BM » No, pretty bad idea to treat animals of that caliber as pets. Usually the people who treat a 300-pound cat as a pet, that’s who generally does not make it out alive. One of the first rules my parents taught me when I was young was know your animal and respect it. It didn’t matter if you were training a tiger or a Chihuahua, they always told me to understand the animal and how it works.
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