‘Friends’: Jennifer Aniston’s Dog Made a Cameo on Hit Sitcom
Whenever the coronavirus pandemic subsides, fans will finally get their Friends reunion. Although it won’t be a reboot as some fans hoped, the televised get together has been a long time coming. Fans are ecstatic to finally see Monica, Rachel, Joey, Chandler, Phoebe, and Ross all together again. Or the actors who play them, at least. It has been revealed that this will be more of a talk-show style reunion, so Lisa Kudrow won’t be playing Phoebe Buffay. But the upcoming reunion makes it a good time to dust off some Friends trivia, including this little known fact about Pat the dog.
Jennifer Aniston owned the giant white dog statue on the show
Pat was a giant white dog statue that Joey bought after landing his first big role in a soap opera. Fans will know Joey played Dr. Drake Ramoray in Days of Our Lives. The first thing he did with his new paycheck was spend it all on useless luxuries, including a menagerie of animal statues.
When Joey angers the show’s writers, they kill his character, leaving him in financial ruin. Joey is forced to sell all his animals and move back in with the gang. Ross tracks down the dog and buys it for Joey. It was the only one he could afford.
The dog makes many appearances on Friends after that. At one point, Joey gives it to Chandler. Monica hates it and leaves it on the balcony.
At the end of the series, viewers see movers taking the dog statue out of Monica’s apartment. She still hasn’t come around to the statue, and tells them “if [it] falls off the truck, it wouldn’t be the worst thing.” In real life, Pat the dog was moved from the set right back to Aniston’s apartment.
Just like on the show, Jennifer Aniston got Pat after landing a big gig
Joey bought Pat for himself after landing a big gig. Aniston, the real owner of the dog statue, received it in a similar way. It as a gift after landing the role of Rachel on friends. But Aniston shares more in common with Joey’s story than just the dog.
On Friends, Joey got Pat after landing a role on Days of Our Lives. In real life, not only was Aniston the owner of Pat, but she had a personal connection to Days of Our Lives as well.
Her father was a soap opera actor and starred on the show while Aniston was in high school. Aniston went to the LaGuardia High School of Performing arts, with kids of other famous creatives. Her classmates included Chaz Bono, the child of Sonny Bono and Cher.
Jennifer Aniston also owned a real white dog
Although the dog that made a guest appearance on Friends was fake, Aniston would have a real dog. The dog she owned with ex-husband Justin Theroux was incredibly similar to Pat. Dolly was a big white shepherd.
Unfortunately, she passed away after Theroux and Aniston split. They still came together to mourn her passing, however. The two shared some sweet moments as they laid their pup to rest.
Pat and Dolly aren’t the only dogs that Aniston has had, however. She was gifted a rescue dog by talk show host Ellen DeGeneres. Clyde isn’t a big white dog like Pat and Dolly. He’s shorter, and a grey-brown color. But he’s still awfully cute. Aniston loves hanging out with him. They take pics together and go to work together. Clyde is probably much better company than Pat, if Aniston still has the giant dog statue. Fans will probably have to wait until the Friends reunion to find out.
