Yvette Nicole Brown is an actress, writer, comedian, and host living in sunny L.A. And, now, you can add “dog mom” to that list! Yvette and her pup, Harley, are an inseparable pair with quite the picture perfect story.
Tell us the most exciting thing you’ve done in the past few years.
Ohhh! I think I’d have to say being the host of the launch of Disney Plus at the D23 expo. I got to introduce every new movie and show to 8,000 excited Disney fans! I brought out greats like Kathleen Kennedy of Lucasfilms and Kevin Feige of Marvel to talk about new shows like Mandalorian and WandaVision. Now, during this pandemic, so many of those shows and those movies have taken over our hearts and our minds and I just love the idea that I had the opportunity to be backstage and introduce them all at D23.
Tell us a bit about the story of how Harley came into your life…
I LOVE this story! So, I was a part of the live-action, re-imagining of Lady and The Tramp by Disney Plus. While shooting the movie, I found out that almost all of the dogs on set were in need of a home. They told us that anyone who was interested in adopting one could give their name to the trainer Matilde for further evaluation… little did I know that Matilde was watching our every move from that point on!
Fast forward and we were about to wrap the movie when Matilde came up to me and said, “I have your dog – your dog is Harley”.
I was taken aback, thinking “I would very much like to pick my own dog” but Matilde insisted that she had picked Harley for me and asked if I would like to meet him at lunch.
Of course I said yes! At lunch, Matilde sat in a chair with Harley on her lap and I sat across from them. Harley was so calm and almost seemed uninterested in me. I was becoming quite sure he did not like me and just as I was telling Matilde that maybe Harley wasn’t the one for me…he sweetly, gently, lovingly, placed his paw on my knee. My heart melted. At that moment, I just knew Matilde was right and Harley was absolutely my dog. He is PERFECT for me in every way!!
What a day – I went to do my job and I came home with a puppy!
If Harley could talk, how do you think he’d describe you?
Loving, playful, and protective – the same words I’d use to describe him!! It’s probably why we’re such a good match.
I’m a helicopter Mom for sure…I always want to provide a safe, loving space, feed him delicious food and I always sleep with one eye open in case he falls out of the bed.
What do you find to be most challenging about being a pet parent?
Finding time to train!! And that’s on me, not on Harley. Right now he really only knows “sit”, and it’s not even a good sit – it’s a tap to the floor and right back up. Ha! He also thinks he’s sheriff of the street and barks at anything moving but most especially the mail person. As soon as the pandemic is done, I’ll be working hard on training.
I’m also preparing for a difficult period as we start to re-emerge from our houses and zoom calls and I’ll be gone more often. Right now I’m with Harley all day and he’s so used to me being around him. I’m trying to wean him off me but sometimes he gets agitated with just me being behind a closed door. This is going to be a huge challenge for both of us.
