Here are 10 rock and metal musicians who have little dogs.
Members of Slipknot, Dream Theater, Megadeth, Motley Crue and more are among headbangers who juxtapose their life in heavy music with some of the cutest pups you’ve ever seen.
Of course, being in a rock or metal band does not and should not define every pre-conceived notion any one person may have. While others in the world may paint rock and metal fans as dangerous, reckless brutes without a moral compass, we know this community is full of a bunch of tender-hearted people who love animals. Especially tiny animals.
Gary Holt and Rob Halford are regular celebrators of “Caturday,” keen on expressing their love of cats and the endless memes they’ve spawned at the end of each week.
But cats are not the focus right now. It’s all about living that little dog life for these 10 rockers.
Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine
Here’s Romeo, Dave Mustaine‘s trusty chihuahua.
Even a floor can be cozy if you’ve got a little buddy snuggled up next to you after coming home from tour.
It looks like chilling is Romeo’s business… and business is good!
Here’s Romeo ready to party on New Year’s Eve.
What a life, being Mustaine’s dog listening to a guitar god casually shred all day. The Megadeth leader says Gunnar “always got the best spot to watch his dad play guitar.”
Unfortunately, Gunnar has gone to the great dog house in the sky.
Slipknot’s Corey Taylor + Cherry Bombs’ Alicia Taylor
The latest addition to the Taylor doggo family came in the fall of 2022 when Corey and Alicia rescued Spud.
LOOK AT HIM!
One of the biggest perks of owning a little dog is that they’re super easy to travel with.
READ MORE: 25 Classic Rock Outfits For Your Dog
Ozzy Osbourne
If you ever watched The Osbournes on MTV back in the day, you saw an army of small dogs. And the army of small turds they constantly left inside the house.
The Osbourne household is still overrun with little dogs, including Wesley the pomeranian, an apparent favorite of the Prince of Darkness.
In an episode of The Osbournes podcast, Ozzy confessed that he loves having a bunch of dogs in bed with him as he sleeps. At first, he pretended to be too cool for that sort of thing, but his kids called him out, singling out Wesley.
“Wesley is your man,” Kelly antagonized.
It looks like Pickles, Violet and Wesley enjoyed a scrumptious photo shoot, captured in their most animated state — catching treats in their mouths.
Scroll through the photos in the post below.
If you thought Sharon was the boss, think again! By her own admission, Bella here is the “actual boss.”
Dream Theater’s Mike Portnoy
If you keep up with Mike Portnoy, you most certainly already know Mickey!
With dad on tour a lot, these two are always squished near each other when he’s off the road.
There’s four dogs here by our count — the three Winery Dogs and Mickey!
Soaking up the sun!
Trivium’s Paolo Gregoletto
Okay, maybe only one of the Trivium bassist’s dogs qualifies for this list. So you get a bonus bigger dog — hooray!
Mochi is the smaller brown dog lying next to Lady. Those eyes…
Mochi might even be closer to the “shmedium,” straddling small and medium. But we make the rules and we say Mochi still qualifies as a little dog.
There’s those eyes again!
Motley Crue’s Tommy Lee
It’s time to meet Teenie Weenie and Neena Da Weena, the classic “wiener dogs” known for the lengthy bodies and stubby little legs.
Of course the guy with no reservations about showing off his own wiener (we all remember that Instagram post, Tommy…) has a couple of these (other) long dogs.
These dogs are always spending quality time with mom (Tommy’s wife Brittany Furlan) and dad.
August Burns Red’s Jake Luhrs
We haven’t had an update from Winston, a little gentleman of a French bulldog. He’s probably still relaxing with that beefy arm dangling over the back of the couch.
Jake, can we get another post sometime soon? Please?!
Some dogs get left at home, but not Winston. He got out to check out some hockey!
Motley Crue’s John 5
You know John 5 has hairless cats — they always pop up in his Instagram videos as he’s playing guitar. But did you know that he and his wife Rita also have a hairless dog named Churro?
Churro is a rescue and the guitarist previously told Loudwire, “He was left out in the desert, which I don’t understand, because he is one of the rarest dogs in the world. Knowing that we directly saved a life when we adopted Churro makes having him as part of our family that much more special.”
Has a dog ever looked more punk rock than Churro does here?
Def Leppard’s Vivian Campbell
Stu is the adopted dog of Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell and he lives life like a genuine rock star! His Instagram handle even says so: @rockstarstu.
We never rode shotgun in a convertible with Viv, so Stu is more rock ‘n’ roll than any of us! And Stu knows the important of protecting your hearing — worthy advice for you rock fans out there.
Stu on a stool, watching Def Leppard rehearsals. The dog gets perks that aren’t even available in a VIP package for the show!
Too cute.
The Pretty Reckless’ Taylor Momsen
We’re sorry to bum you out at the end, but we have to honor a special dog who is no longer with us.
In March of 2024, Taylor Momsen said farewell to her beloved Petal.
“Petal has been with me for over half of my life,” she wrote on Instagram, “For 16 years we shared everything together. She lived the fullest of lives… she toured the world, she lived in NYC, islands in Maine, sunny L.A.. She’s been in recording studios and TV sets and video shoots… plans, trains, boats, busses and cars.”
She shared even more, as seen below, alongside a video compilation of photos and clips from throughout the years.
Rest in peace, Petal.
