Maria Menounos talks Beverly Hills Dog Show and being undefeated in the WWE

FanSided spoke with television personality and passionate dog owner Maria Menounos about the Beverly Hills Dog Show premiering on NBC this Sunday, April 21.

Maria Menounos absolutely loves and adores animals, despite being allergic to many of them.

The AfterBuzz TV co-founder was always walking her friends’ dogs and saving local animals in her neighborhood as a youngster. Yet, Menounos’ parents would not allow her to have her own dog. Thus, when she moved on her own to Los Angeles, she went all out on the dog front, call it a rebel phase that never ended. Today, Menounos works with LA based rescue organizations like Wags and Walks and Westside German Shepherd Rescue to make sure man’s best friend never gets left behind.

Menounos will be part of the star-studded Beverly Hills Dog Show Presented by Purina airing on NBC this Easter Sunday, April 21, at 1 p.m. ET. Legendary Winter Olympics gold-medalist Shaun White will be a featured guest at the celebration along with his dog Leroy the Good Boy. Joining them will be stars Ashley Tisdale, Melissa Roxburgh, Mario Lopez, John O’Hurley (J. Peterman sighting!), Bo Derek, Michaela McManus, Parveen Kaur, Akbar Gbajabiamila, J.R. Ramirez, and Triple Crown jockey champions Victor Espinoza and Mike Smith.

FanSided.com (Nir Regev): I’ve read you enjoyed walking your friends’ dogs around the neighborhood back in the day. Considering how many you’ve adopted since, was it difficult to detach when you had to bring them back?

Maria Menounos: Yeah, it was always sad to not have a dog of my own! I was really, really, really desperate for one but you do what you can. And so my friends let me borrow theirs and yeah, I was sad to detach… But then I moved to LA. Once I had my own place I created my own breed in my own little family. That was the end of the sadness!

You didn’t have a dog at all when you were younger?

No, I had rabbits and my bunny was like a dog. I had a parakeet. I was always saving animals that were injured, so I had various animals I’d take care of at different time. There were neighborhood cats that I would feed but I was heavily allergic so I would have to beg friends to pet them for me because I couldn’t.

Were you not allowed to have one by your parents?

My parents were kind of like “no dogs allowed” and they were from the old country in Greece. They were against it all. Now, they’ve had a dog for twelve years and they love him more than me. So now they get it!

So once you were free from their tyranny you got all the dogs you always wanted?

Exactly, and then I showed them the way! (laughs)

How do you handle the heartbreak of losing a beloved pet? Your best friend. Especially, in your case multiple times. I couldn’t even imagine experiencing that kind of devastation more than once.

It’s the most excruciating experience in the world, it’s like a mack truck runs over your heart… And then backs up and runs over it again. I did a podcast devoted to it to help people understand what it’s like, and to give them tips on how to get through it. I’ve lost five. My original five babies and it’s a hard, hard thing to go through.

On a positive note, I saw you celebrate with WWE’s Becky Lynch at Wrestlemania 35. What was it like being part of that moment?

Becky is amazing! And you know what, the WWE, they’re my family. It’s actually hard to root for people because I love Charlotte (Flair). I love Becky. I’m not as close with Ronda [Rousey] but I love her too. I was so happy for Becky, she’s worked so hard for that moment. She deserved it, and she crushed it. It was great! I was just like waiting outside of gorilla [staging area] to give her a huge, huge hug. It was so cool to celebrate with her!

Would you ever get back in the ring like when you teamed up with Kelly Kelly a few years ago?

I wish, I wish! I loved it, it was so much fun. I’m so glad that they let me be a part of their world and I still can say I’m 4-0. I’m undefeated in the WWE!

What can fans expect from the Beverly Hills Dog Show on NBC on Sunday, April 21?

The Beverly Hills Dog Show is a family tradition on Easter Sunday, presented by Purina, and it features a lot of celebrities walking the red carpet with their own dogs. My favorite was Shaun White, who came with his dog Leroy. They came in matching pink outfits and matching pink tinted glasses. It was the greatest sight I’ve ever seen!

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What led you and your husband Keven Undergaro to create the AfterBuzz TV podcast network?

We love TV and at the time Jersey Shore and Breaking Bad were our favorite shows, kind of all over the place. There was nowhere to talk about it! So we started AfterBuzz TV, and we’ve become the ESPN of TV talk. We produce around 150 hours of content a week and we have over 300 hosts from all over the globe. Our two-part mission is to give great content to fans of television and help launch and nurture the careers of young aspiring talent in LA.

You worked in entertainment pretty much your whole life. I’m curious with your great love of animals, why didn’t you choose that path for your life’s work?

Great question! Well I’m highly allergic to almost everything, so that ruined my dream of working with them. (Laughs) It was a cruel joke! I’m allergic to cats, horses, dogs. I have hypoallergenic dogs. I was lucky with Max my German Shepard, somehow, I’m not allergic to him.

Maria Menounos hopes fans embrace the #EveryDogIsAStar Campaign. Pet lovers across the country are encouraged to post a photo or video of their pet on social media now until April 21 using the hashtag #EveryDogIsAStar for a chance to see their pet on NBC during the Beverly Hills Dog Show Presented by Purina on Easter Sunday.