When Rebecca Romijn married longtime boyfriend Jerry O’Connell on July 14, 2007, her beloved dog Taco was by her side.
But things weren’t always so rosy for the Poodle mix. Taco had been living in an animal shelter when Romijn spotted the dog on an adopt-a-pet segment on a Los Angeles TV news broadcast. “There was this close-up of Taco’s face, and I froze,” the “Ugly Betty” star told Self magazine. “And I panicked because I have three dogs already.”
Romijn called the number on the screen, and left a message. When an hour went by with no return call, Romijn called again – and again. “All day long, I was like, ‘Why aren’t they calling me back? This dog needs to be rescued!’”
That’s when Romijn decided to pull some strings. “I hate doing that,” she says. “I’m not that girl; it’s not my style to go pulling celebrity strings. But if they’re not calling me back, desperate times call for desperate measures,” she laughs.
Romijn’s publicist finally reached someone at the TV news station. Romijn learned Taco was still available, and about his sad state before being rescued. “His hair had been full of twigs and leaves and chewed-up gum,” she says.
Now Taco, who donned a tuxedo collar for the nuptials, is living life to the fullest. “Talk about a Cinderella story,” she says.