Worst Dog Owners Ever? Jon And Kate Gosselin Once "Returned" Their German Shepherds
For most people, their dogs are like family. Celebrities, especially, seem to pull out all the stops when it comes to keeping their pets safe, pampered, and happy. So when a celebrity couple splits up, their animals—including dogs, cats, other critters, and even livestock—can become a point of contention. For example, Cheryl Burke fought her ex-husband Matthew Lawrence for custody of their dog, and Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux wound up with an alternating visitation schedule for their two dogs.
When Jon and Kate Gosselin butted heads over their dogs, though, both of the unlucky pups wound up in the animal shelter. There was something of a happy ending, though.
Jon And Kate Gosselin Brought Two German Shepherds Home
Anyone who watched Jon & Kate Plus 8 recognized that the Gosselins' marriage was headed south long before they announced their split. Life was tough for the couple early on, after they welcomed sextuplets with twin preschoolers at home. And things didn't get easier when they adopted two dogs.
With eight small children at home, Jon soon admitted that the pups probably weren't having the best time.
People quoted Jon as saying, "Those kids beat them up, climb on them, pull their tails, bite at them, drag them around and everything you can imagine not to do to an animal, they’ve done."
Commenters dragged the family for mistreating Shoka and Nala, the two German Shepherds the family brought home, to the point where Jon clarified his past statements.
Later, he explained that they understood the "responsibilities of being good dog owners" and made sure the dogs were always supervised when the kids were around them. That didn't do much to soothe the public outcry, but if true, at least that was good news for the dogs (and the kids!).
However, later decisions by Jon—and a subsequent custody battle—didn't reflect well on either Kate or Jon.
Jon Made Headlines For "Returning" The Dogs To A Breeder
After the drama and animal cruelty allegations, it seemed that Jon Gosselin wanted to take steps to remedy what he felt was a poor situation for the two dogs. Us Magazine stated that amid a custody battle over the couple's eight children, Jon and Kate also argued over who would have Shoka and Nala.
But, the publication claims, Jon "settled the issue by returning the pups to their breeder in September 2009." It might not be as simple as that, however.
Though Jon "returning" the dogs did seem to draw the ire of not only the public but also his ex-wife, the story wasn't that clear-cut.
In fact, other publications stated that Jon Gosselin sent the two German Shepherds to a breeder who also offered training. The plan, apparently, was to ensure that the dogs had sufficient training to be considered safe and obedient—especially around young kids.
No publication seemed to say how old the dogs were when the family adopted them, but it's assumed they were either very young dogs or still puppies. Most people wouldn't adopt two puppies with a gaggle of kindergartners at home, but whatever the Gosselins' motivation, sending the dogs away temporarily seemed like their solution. Or, at least, it was Jon's.
What Happened To Jon And Kate's German Shepherds?
While fans might have assumed the Gosselins returning their two dogs to the breeder meant that was the end of the story, that apparently wasn't the case. In 2010, People reported that Kate had brought Shoka home and that her kids were thrilled.
There was no mention of the other dog, but the kids were happy to have Shoka, at least, back home. Kate's comments about the dog's homecoming might have had fans scratching their heads, though.
Headlines had called out Jon for "returning" the dogs, with many viewers of the show outright blaming him for the harsh decision—and making their kids say goodbye to their beloved pets.
But it sounded as if Kate was admitting her part in the matter when she brought Shoka back. People quoted Kate as saying, "I realized if I had two difficult kids I wouldn’t send them away and ask for new kids."
Rather than Jon Gosselin cruelly banishing the family's dogs, it sounded like either he and Kate agreed to get rid of them, or there was some truth to the training rumor.
Either way, there were some rumors that the couple didn't want dogs initially, specifically that Kate didn't want them. Some rumors suggested the couple only adopted the dogs because it was good for ratings for their now-defunct show.
Whatever their motivation, Kate did appear to have some dogs years later, and one of them appeared to be their original pup; an Instagram post tagged #Shoka #DoubleDigits celebrated the German Shepherd's 10th birthday in 2018.
In 2019, Kate posted a picture of a dog named Nanuq; earlier posts stated that Nanuq and another doc named Mak were Shoka's puppies.
Kate has largely faded from the spotlight (and social media) but it seems her feelings about dogs definitely changed after the drama with Shoka and Nala.
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