Kristin Bauer van Straten Talks About her Passion for Dogs and Animal Welfare

Pam from True Blood Speaks to K9 Magazine

Recently Kristin Bauer van Straten, who plays Pam the vampire in HBO's hit TV series True Blood, caught up with K9 magazine to talk about her passion for animal welfare. Here is what she had to say to Kim O'Meara. Firstly, she was asked to describe her dogs. Their age, breed, etc. Her passion and love for her animals was evident right from the first answer. Kristin has two dogs currently, Asher, who is 5 and a Rottweiler mix, and Oz (short for Osmond) is 2 years of age and a Labrador. This is the smallest brood of dogs she has had, due to two older animals passing away recently.  She also keeps cats, her most recent additions can be viewed on her Facebook page. 

Pets and Animal Welfare a Life Long Passion

Kristin has always had a love for all things furry. Her first dog was one that she rescued from a veterinary surgery. A friend at the time was receptionist there and there was little hope of the owners returning to collect the animal. So Kristin took the dog in and raised the one-year-old. The owners returned years later, and while Kristin was prepared to return the dog, realistically; it was love at first sight. She adopted a Rottweiler after that. She literally bought him from a man on the street, who pulled up in a car and dropped the dog off after Kristin had contacted him. She hated the thought of the animal being sold from one mean person to another. Although, nowadays her idea on that has changed. She encourages people to avoid the puppy mills that breed animals only for money. She would prefer for people to go to animal shelters and rescue animals from there, rather than support an industry that can be cruel to animals.

Pam, Life Mottos and Dog Preferences

When asked about what she loved most about Pam, Kristin replied with:

My character pretty deep, I find her fascinating. She's very much one of the hounds, she's very cool and I love her sarcastic nature. I just love that fashionista diva!

She also loves the way the series is now delving deeper into how all the characters tick. When asked about her life motto, Kristin was surprising in answering not only for herself, but for her dogs too! While, for herself, she admits that the more she lives and learns, the more things become clarified. Her motto's would probably be 'free will and choice' and 'be part of life.' Her dog's motto's would be as follows:

I think if Asher and Oz were to have motto's, Asher's would be more sentimental and all about life, he'd probably say 'buck up dude!', Oz's would probably be more about playing!

Her dog preferences fall along the following lines. While she is a sucker for the gentle giant of a dog, over it's smaller counterpart, her true love seems to be mutts over pedigrees. She feels that they have fewer health issues after having raised both types.

Just for Fun!

Kim O'Meara had a few fun questions. First off was:  If you were to swap roles with your dog for a day, how do you think they'd cope being you and what would you most love about being them? It was a concept that appealed to Kristin. She would love to be able to walk a day in their paws so that she could see their world through a doggie perspective as well as being able to learn to appreciate each other more. Although she did stipulate that it would be more fun in Oz's body due to him being the more fun, active dog. Asher is the thinking dog, the contemplater. Secondly, she was asked to match up people with dog breeds. The first obvious one, was her husband, Abri van Straten.

Oh wow, well because he's South African, I'd say a Rhodesian Ridgeback. Like him, they seem a shy, beautiful breed. Sweet but tough.

She then matched Oprah with a Cocker Spaniel, Charlie Sheen with a chocolate Labrador and Gwen Stepani with a white standard Poodle (smart, beautiful and intelligent). And then she was asked the last time she laughed out loud at something a dog did. Well, you can see for yourself in her home video of Oz and his squeaky toy.

Dog Ownership

Kristin says the best thing about dog ownership as the fact that they make you so happy. She describes them as a natural anti-depressant. Kim then asked her to finish the following sentence: My dogs are… Kristin replied with: perfect. And finally, she was asked about the one question she would ask her dogs is she got the chance. Her reply?

I'd love to know if they're still able to communicate with the animals we've had which have passed away and they'd probably just roll their eyes – or tell me!

And that is why we love Kristin so much! Source: K9 Magazine - True Blood's Kristin Bauer Talks to K9 Magazine (Photo Credit: Shine Photos.com/Grace Chon) (Video Credit: YouTube)

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