The Surprising Way Jennifer Aniston Got Her First Rescue Dog From ‘Friends’
Actress Jennifer Aniston is sharing the unusual way she became a pup parent to her beloved first rescue dog, Norman.
During a September 2025 interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Aniston shared that she first met Norman while on the set of Friends, Season 2, Episode 6 ("The One with the Baby on the Bus"), which premiered in 1995. She explained that Norman was briefly in a scene where Chandler (Matthew Perry) and Joey (Matt LeBlanc) are running around New York City after accidentally leaving Ross’ (David Schwimmer) baby Ben on a bus. The actress said she had been wanting to adopt a dog when she found out that Norman was being retired from acting by his trainer because of his stubbornness.
“I said to the animal trainer [on the Friends set] if there’s ever a dog that you want to give up for adoption or you know a dog that is available for adoption, I’m looking,” said Aniston during the interview. “They said, ‘We do actually have a dog who we’re going to retire because he’s very stubborn. And he doesn’t do what you tell him. And he never hits his mark.’ So I retired him. And then he became mine.”
Aniston, who played Rachel on Friends, currently has two rescue dogs, Clyde and Lord Chesterfield. She has released three children's books based on Clyde called Clydeo Takes a Bite Out of Life, Cook with Clydeo: A Cookbook for Kids, and Clydeo versus Peanut Butter.
Aniston celebrated the release of Clydeo Takes a Bite Out of Life by bringing Clyde as her plus one for an October 2024 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live. She expressed gratitude to those who have purchased her book. In addition, she noted that she started the Clydeo Fund, "in honor of this book.” According to the Clydeo Fund website, the organization’s mission is to “save the lives of shelter animals, improve conditions within shelters, and bring joy and unconditional love to the homes of the humans who rescue them.”
“I care about helping animals and dogs – shelter dogs. And our shelters are in need of a lot of help as well,” said Aniston during the 2024 interview.