THE A-LIST’S HELPING HOUNDS

Actress CARRIE FISHER, 59, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at 29, has a therapy dog called Gary, a french bulldog. She says: ‘Gary is like my heart. [He] is very devoted to me and that calms me down. He’s anxious when he’s away from me.’ Gary is so famous that he has his own Instagram and Twitter accounts.

actress JING LUSI, 31, fell in love with a friend’s dog. ‘I had depression and this dog made me feel like the best thing ever. I needed a reason to get up and out every day so I got a maltipoo called Nori. When I was down, the greeting of pure love felt better than any antidepressant. Animals break ice, start conversations. And when you are in a dark place, these interactions go a long way.’ In her 2011 autobiography actress ASHLEY JUDD, 48, told of a troubled childhood of neglect and sexual abuse. Her dog Shug, a cockapoo, is registered as a ‘psychological support’ dog. When MICKEY ROURKE, 63, won a Golden Globe Award for his performance in

in 2009 he said: ‘I’d like to thank all my dogs. The ones that are here, the ones that aren’t here any more. Sometimes when a man is alone, all you’ve got is your dog.’ He later said: ‘I sort of self-destructed and everything came out about 14 years ago. The wife had left, the career was over… I didn’t want to be here. I was in a bad place. I looked at my dog Beau Jack. The dog was looking at me going, “Who’s going to take care of me?”’

CHRIS PACKHAM, 55, has spoken of his struggles with asperger syndrome and depression. In his memoir

he revealed it was dogs – poodles Itchy and Scratchy – who saved him from suicide when he had sunk to his lowest ebb. ‘They loved me so I couldn’t do it. They kept me alive. I owe them my life. I always will.’

actor HENRY CAVILL, 33, has a fear of flying and often takes his dog, an akita called Kal-El, with him on planes, wearing a vest with the words, ‘Working. Do not pet. Emotional support dog’. He says: ‘You know once you are on a plane, it is just nice to have your dog there with you.’ When DR DAVID NOTT, a consultant surgeon, met the Queen at a lunch in 2014, he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of his volunteer work in war zones. He said: ‘I had been coping in Syria with children who were really badly damaged and the Queen must have detected something significant. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to speak to her, I just couldn’t. She said, “Well, shall I help you?” I thought, “How on earth can the Queen help me?”’ Dr Nott said the Queen then opened a tin of biscuits and invited him to feed and stroke her corgis. ‘And so for 20 minutes during this lunch the Queen and I fed the dogs.’ Nott said the Queen’s humanity was ‘unbelievable’ and the dogs were therapeutic. Actor RYAN GOSLING, 35, owns a mixed breed called George, which he has described as ‘the great love of my life’. He has been known to take George on chat shows for moral support, so the attention is fixed on him. He has a doctor’s note stating George is his ‘emotional support dog’ and says: ‘I take him everywhere. I have special paperwork so he can travel with me wherever I go.’ AGNETHA FALTSKOG, 66, of Abba fame, lives a reclusive existence on an island in the Stockholm archipelago with her two dogs: Bella, a pug, and Bruno, a rare breed. She says: ‘They are 100 per cent honest and in their company you can just be yourself. They know if you are sad or sick, sometimes by just looking at you, and then they come to comfort you.’