VIRAL! Disney's Laura Marano & Her Loud Little Keeshond Velvet Are the Cutest Duo—You'll Swoon!

A chat with the star and her Keeshond, Velvet

Words by Stanley Coren, PhD, DSc, FRSC

Like any proud godparent, I want the best for my two girls, Jayda and Avery. I want them to live huge. To give of themselves so they make the world even more wondrous than it is. To grab chances, make memories, and dive into work they love. To love people and animals, and choose paths that protect both. And to aim high by looking up to those who aim high.

One person who asked exactly that—including whether dogs helping the visually impaired could be taught to ‘read’—is Dr. Bonnie Bergin. She’s the remarkable woman credited with inventing the Service Dog concept to assist people with mobility limitations, back in 1975, and later founding Bergin University of Canine Studies. Based in Penngrove, California, it’s the only North American university where you can earn a bachelor’s or master’s degree in canine studies. Bergin trained in special education (for people, not puppies), and over the years she proved that the same teaching methods used with young children work beautifully when training dogs to perform fairly complex tasks.

Laura opened up about her early start in the biz, life as a young woman cracking Hollywood, and, of course, her favourite co-star and long-time four-legged pal, her music-loving Keeshond, Velvet. Plain and simple, Jayda and Avery, you picked a good one.

MD:You jumped into acting so young. What pulled you to the stage at first?LM:My mom ran a theater [the Agoura Children's Theatre] so my sister and I basically grew up in it. It was a second home; somewhere we'd hang all the time. When my sister (actress Vanessa Marano) was six, she asked my mom if we could act. And she said 'Nope. No way. Not happening.' My sister begged her daily for two years and mom's friends started teasing that here she was, this super supportive parent, yet wouldn't back her kid in the one thing she wanted. So she hunted for an agent and found one who mostly worked with kids. It was like ding-ding-ding. So we all went in together; I was five, Vanessa eight. After Vanessa met the agent, she wanted to see mom, and since I just wanted to meet people, I went in too. The agent said she'd take Vanessa and I said: 'But I don't have agent.' So she said: 'Honey, I'll take you too.' My mom went: 'What just happened?!' We've kept the same agent since. That was 14 years back. It took a good year before my first role. I must've been six or seven when I started on Without a Trace. Starting young is great 'cause you've got no fears or doubts. I was just like: 'Throw me in. I'm ready.'

When I play piano, when I'm practicing, she always, always, always sings with me. Which you'd think is cute—and sometimes it is. But really, she is very loud.

MD:In 2011, you started as Ally on Disney's Austin & Ally. How are you most like Ally Dawson?LM:The second I heard I was up for Ally, I was like: She's ridiculously me. Except the stage fright she had, which I never did, we're so alike. At first I'd only seen her character breakdown. Then I read the script and saw how much like me she was. As the show went on, it got even more so.MD:What are the pressures of being a young actor in Hollywood now?LM:I think there's this crushing pressure to please everyone. To be grown-up but still kid-friendly. You've got to be fine with not being perfect. And I'm 100 percent not perfect in any way. I'm so awkward and ridiculous and totally okay with that.

MD:You've got a special four-legged pal. Who's she?LM:I do. Her name's Velvet. She's a Keeshond. Keeshonds are kind of a Siberian husky, a Chow Chow, and a German Shepherd rolled into one. She's so cute and so nuts at the same time. She's actually very loud. She definitely talks. My favourite—and least favourite—thing about her is that when I play piano, when I practice, she always, always, always sings with me. Which you'd think is adorable—and sometimes it is. But really, she is very loud.

MD:How old is she?LM:She's nine. But she looks like a puppy. When we got her, she also had a brother, and we got to pick the shy one or the firecracker, and we took the firecracker. And she hasn't changed.

Whenever I'm stressed I know I can spend thirty minutes with her and it all melts away. I know that sounds cheesy, but it's true.

MD:How does having a dog keep you grounded in a city that can feel pretty fake?LM:For one, it gives you a wider love for animals overall. She's got a huge personality. She's her own being. And I love her for it. I walk her, I clean up after her, she brings me duties outside my Hollywood bubble.

MD:What makes Velvet one of a kind?LM:She slots right into my family. She's the dog I can be with after a long school day. Or, when I'm getting hair and make-up done at home, she goes and sits at my stylists' feet. She wants to be with the girls. She's the best 'best-of-both-worlds' kind of dog.

MD:I heard that, with the Humane Society of the US, you helped launch a push for an idea called Meatless Mondays. What's it about and why'd you sign on?LM:It's a brilliant push. It's about choosing no meat one day a week. It helps the planet given the tie between factory farms and carbon levels, and it obviously helps the animals. I think it's such a key campaign for so many reasons. Helping animals and the earth go hand in hand.