Bethenny Frankel Believes The Memory Of Her Late Boyfriend Dennis Shields ‘Lives On’ In Their Dogs Biggy and Smallz!

Bethenny Frankel believes the memory of her late boyfriend Dennis Shields “lives on” in their two rescue dogs Biggy and Smallz. “These dogs have absolutely changed our lives. I know it sounds crazy, but they really have,” the Real Housewives of New York City alum told Us Weekly.

The Skinnygilr mogul explained that Shields convinced her to adopt the Lhasa Apso puppies, who came from the same litter. Though she was hesitant at first, Frankel admitted that she was happy to have them after her dog Cookie passed away in October 2017 following multiple seizures.

“We’ve experienced loss in our house. A person that was in my life for years passed away, and he’s the one who made me get both [dogs],” she said. “I was like, ‘Are you crazy? I’m not getting two dogs,’ and he thought it was crazy to separate them. And I said, ‘All right, so now I’m getting two dogs,’ and I had three dogs at the time. My dog passed away, so I was left with Biggie and Smalls and he named them, so people’s memory lives on.”

Frankel encourages pet owners to adopt and not shop. “Dennis’ memory lives on through these two dogs, so there are stories,” she told Us Weekly. “A rescue dog has many more stories. It has history, and you feel like you’ve done something good.”

Bethenny also reveals that Biggy and Smallz have taught her 9-year-old daughter Bryn about compassion. “Adopting is something that’s part of her. She’s proud of it. ‘We have two rescue dogs’  she tells everybody that, so it’s part of her identity as a doggy mommy,” Frankel said.

She added, “They are our family members. [Bryn] will spend a whole day just loving them and laying with them.”

Photo Credit: Bravo