“I have three small dogs, that are all rescues,” Katherine explained. “One is like a Papillon mix — a Chihuahua Papillon — she is a silly, silly dog. Then I have Sarge who was part of a backyard breeding program that got shut down. In Los Angeles, they changed the law so you can no longer buy puppy mill dogs or sell them in pet stores and this woman took all these dogs she had…160 something… shoved them all in crates, stacking 2 or 3 dogs to a 1 dog crate, put them in a U-Haul and then abandoned the U-Haul outside of Las Vegas. The things people are capable of doing…. Sarge comes from that haul of Pomeranians,” adding with a whisper, “which are beautiful, can we say designer dogs, I guess.” Heigl confessed, “I have never really had a dog like that, I’ve always had really kind of silly Chihuahua mixes, so he is my fancy, but doesn’t act fancy, that is why his name is Sergeant.”

Continuing through her pack, Katherine said, “Then I have Waffles who the children named, and he is another Pomeranian. Up here in Utah there are a lot of people who surprisingly don’t spay and neuter their animals or don’t think to make that a priority especially financially. This was a neighbors whose dog got pregnant.” She continued with a giggle, “He was shocked. My mother said ‘don’t you know how this happens’ and so our Foundation offered to pay for the spay and neuter of his 2 dogs and he gave me one as a thank you and I couldn’t resist. So I took Waffles. He is so adorable. And then these Rottie puppies that just came up and then I have three big dogs…well the Rotties are gonna be big but I am supposed to be “fostering” them.”

She concluded her family of dogs, with 3 larger pups, “Two German Shepherd mixes – brother and sister, and a Boxer Bubba. Everyone of these dogs are rescues and I always want to tell people too… a lot of people want a specific breed and don’t think you can rescue. But you can. I have 3 purebred dogs and they are all rescues.”

Listen to the interview (above) to find out more about Katherine’s animal menagerie, which includes horses, donkeys, chickens, pigs and goats, the work of her non-profit Foundation, and how she teamed up with a top pet nutritionist to create her new pet food brand Badlands Ranch.

The Badlands Ranch brand provides superfood-packed dog food and treats for canine health and is named after her family ranch in Utah, where her foundation has a rescue which assists in the placement of dogs to forever homes and provides medical care and obedience training.