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- Entertainment
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Celebrities With Interesting Hobbies And Side Hustles
Have you ever played "two truths and a lie" with someone who reveals a fact about themselves that left you speechless? Or had a friend who casually dropped a jaw-dropping story completely out of nowhere? Sometimes, I have the same reaction when I find out about a celebrity's really out-of-left-field interest, hobby, or accomplishment. Here are 30 celebs with wild and interesting sidequests: In 2025, comedian Matt Rife and YouTuber Elton Castee purchased Ed and Lorraine Warren's home — which inspired iconic horror films like The Conjuring and Annabelle — and occult museum. In an Instagram video, Matt said, "This might be the most important and prominent piece of paranormal history in the world." Matt also said that the purchase made him "the legal guardian" of the "haunted collection" that includes the allegedly haunted doll Annabelle "for at least the next five years." He said, "We do not legally own the items, but we are the legal guardians and caretakers of the items." Being a gifted chess player runs in her veins — her aunt is Susan Lalic, who's an International Master, Woman Grandmaster, and five-time British Women's Chess Champion. In a previous Reddit AMA, PinkPantheress said that, if she wasn't a musician, "genuinely… i'd be a chess player. my family are all chess players, don't believe me .. google susan lalic, that's my auntie." David Arquette is passionate about clowns — specifically Bozo the Clown, whom he bought the rights to in 2021. Not only did he love the circus character as a kid, but he also wants to "rehabilitate" people's perception of clowns after the success of the It movies. In 2023, he told "I don't know, my great-grandparents were in vaudeville. So it might be something about that — the traveling sort of circus element. There's something in my blood that I just love that; there's something in the wrestling world that's very kind of circus. I lived in Chicago sort of in a few years early on and fell in love with Bozo the Clown there and then went to the Ringling Brothers and then saw the whole circus, and it just kind of blew my mind. I was like, OK, I love this whole world. So I've always loved it." Wu Tang Clan rapper GZA dropped out of high school his sophomore year, but that didn't dampen his passion for quantum physics. Starting in 2011, he's been giving lectures at prestigious institutions like Harvard and New York University. In 2012, he told Rolling Stone, "I never went to a university and linked up with, you know, quantum and astrophysicists and things of that nature. But it's not like this is what sparked the idea for me to want to do this album [Dark Matter]. It was an interesting experience. I went to MIT and met with Penny Chisholm, a marine biologist. She was looking at viruses, bacteria, all kind of stuff. It was actually new for me to be up in there. It was a great experience. I went over to Harvard and spoke to David Kaiser, who is a quantum physicist. I met with him today and a few other quantum physicists. We sat down, we had lunch. I just had a chance to meet several professors, students. You know, scientists." In 2019, Mandy Moore hiked 17,600 feet to South Base Camp on Mount Everest with alpine guide Melissa Arnot Reid, who's sumitted six times. Mandy told the Hollywood Reporter, "Trekking soon became challenging, more because of the altitude than the walks themselves. Sometimes we'd gain 3,000 to 4,000 feet of elevation in a day, walking five or seven hours; some days, we walked just three. We were not running a marathon. Bistari, bistari means 'slowly, slowly' in Sherpa, and it was our motto. We made sure that we weren't maxing ourselves out." She also said, "On day seven, when we reached Base Camp, it was stunning. But every day had something like that. At every turn, there was a moment where you're like, I can't believe this exists in the world. Getting to Base Camp definitely felt momentous, but it was the entirety of the journey that was the reason why we were there. It really wasn't about getting to this one point. Melissa said that after big trips, there's a bit of an emotional hangover. And after checking off the goal of Base Camp, I definitely felt a little empty, like there was a bit of a void. I understand that it's going to take time for the experience to be reflected back into my life. But I still can't believe we did it." Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson is a licensed commercial pilot who was a captain for the now-defunct Astraeus Airlines. On several of the band's tours, Bruce famously piloted their plane, the Ed Force One. During the Somewhere in Time tour, he reportedly said, "This unique way of touring earlier this year with everyone and all our gear onboard the plane helped to make 2008 easily one of the most successful, exciting, and fun years in the band's career. Taking Ed Force One around the planet and playing to our fans in so many different countries was an incredible experience for all of us. For me personally, flying and performing was one of the most challenging and satisfying things I've ever attempted, despite the rigours and all the logistical difficulties we encountered." When Walton Goggins was only two years old, he met B.B. King because his aunt was the blues legend's publicist. When Walton was 14, B.B. took him on tour with him for a bit. While Walton was just along for the ride on tour, he actually performed for B.B. King a few times. He told Conan, "I was a clogger... He sponsored these prison shows at the Atlanta Fulton County Prison, and so, he had my mom, who got me into clogging, he had us perform for him. I did it two or three times with my mother." Erykah Badu is a trained doula. Since 2001, she's supported more than 50 births — including fellow singer Summer Walker's three. In 2024, Erykah told Essence, "It's a sisterhood. It's childbirth, it's a ceremony, it's a spiritual walk. And doulas are not created, they are born. You're born with that type of heart and patience, and you're drawn towards the work. I had some very talented and patient mentors, one being Shafia Monroe. Shafia is the founder of the ICTC [the International Center for Traditional Childbearing]. I went through her program after [I'd] participated in 14 births. So, I learned what they call direct-entry midwifery. That means you learn in the field." She continued, "I got my certification in 2001 from ICTC where I learned textbook, technical things that I wouldn't have known. You have the instinct, but you learn to speak the language as a birth worker. Because we didn't have that before the late 1900s. We didn't have permission to [be] birth workers. We were doing it, but the '80s and '90s [which was] when we really started to be accepted. So a network is necessary and the network shouldn't exclude the doula." "The doula is the conductor. After pulling everything together, the doula disappears into a corner but still helps and holds space as needed. You become patient. You walk softly. It seeps into your everyday life. You are of service at all times. The greatest among you shall be your servant," she said. Jennifer Tilly is a seriously successful professional poker player. At the 2005 World Series of Poker, she won the Ladies no-limit Texas Hold 'Em event — making her the first celebrity to win at the WSOP. She's been inducted into the Women in Poker Hall of Fame, and her lifetime tournament winnings exceed $1 million. When filming ended on The Boxer, Daniel Day-Lewis spent 10 months studying shoemaking under Stefano Bemer, a master of the craft, in Florence. They bonded over how passionate they were about their respective lines of work. That wasn't Daniel's last dive into the fashion world. To prepare for his role as a designer in Phantom Thread, he recreated a Balenciaga dress from scratch using his wife, Rebecca Miller, as a fit model. He told W Magazine, "Rebecca was very patient. The code that I had to crack was a very particular gusset in the armpit. You couldn't tell from the photos how the gusset was designed. Marc [Happel, the New York City Ballet costume department head] and I each worked on our version of the gusset and, through trial and error, figured it out... Rebecca has worn the dress. It's very pretty." In a 2014 Reddit AMA, George Clooney shared, "I'm a cobbler, I like to make shoes. ... Let me just tell you this. When Daniel Day-Lewis was spending all his time playing Lincoln, I was just fixing shoes. He's spending all the time focused on the hat and the pipe and getting into character, and I remained focused — with the overalls and the hammer." Lin-Manuel Miranda co-owns the Drama Book Shop, an independent bookstore in New York City. In 2018, he purchased the shop along with theatrical producer James L. Nederlander, theater director Thomas Kail, and theatrical producer Jeffrey Seller. They saved the iconic institution from permanent closure and relocated it. Lin-Manuel actually has a history with the shop. Back in 2002, he was part of the shop's resident theater company, and the downstairs theater is where he held rehearsals for In the Heights. In a full-circle moment, the shop reopened the same day the movie version of In the Heights hit theaters in 2021. He told the New York Times, "My hope is that we can continue to be a hub for the theater community. I don't expect we'll make a great fortune, but I hope, with the coffee, we'll break even." If you visit the Drama Book Shop, you might see one of Lin-Manuel's recommendations, like this one I spotted back in January! In 2019, Cody Simpson decided to get back into swimming after nearly a decade "just to do right by that kid in [him]." After failing to qualify for Australia's national team for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, he moved home to train in hopes of qualifying for the 2024 Paris games. He came incredibly close during trials — only half a second behind qualifier Matthew Temple in the 100m butterfly final. In an interview following the trials, he said, "I did what I could do, and that's all you can do. I've come a lot further in the last four years than perhaps I could have bargained for. Starting from zero and trying to see how far I could get in half or a third of the time that everybody else has been training, just to do right by that kid in me that gave it up to go and pursue something else, which I had an incredible journey." Cody ultimately decided to return to music. However, something amazing came out of his Olympic pursuits — love! He's been dating fellow swimmer Emma McKeon — Australia's most decorated Olympian — since 2022. In 2011, Jon Bon Jovi and his wife, Dorothea Bongiovi, opened the community restaurant JBJ Soul Kitchen. What sets it apart from other restaurants is its pay-it-forward model. Those who can afford to pay for their own meals can also donate money to help cover the cost for those who can't. Additionally, customers who can't afford to pay can volunteer. Dorothea told Dining Out Jersey, "We treat all guests the same and expect that in return. At the end of the meal, everyone has had the same experience, and no one knows who is paying and who has volunteered." They now have four locations across New Jersey, and they've served more than 221,000 meals. Frankie Muniz took a break from acting in 2006 and started racing professionally, but three years later, he got a season-ending injury during the ChampCar Atlantic Championship. However, in 2023, he returned to the track as a NASCAR driver. He told AP News, "The only thing I can compare it to is like going to a new school. You can feel like you're the man in one school, and you go to that new school, you're like, 'I don't know anybody. Are people going to welcome me here?' I have a little bit of that feeling. Like even walking in the garage, I don't know if people accept me there yet." In 2024, he signed on as a full-time driver for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with Reaume Brothers Racing. He told the LA Times, "If I wanted to go racing for fun, I would not be racing in the truck series. I'd be racing at my local track, or I'd be racing some SCCA club events. I want to be one of the top drivers there are. I want to make it as high up in NASCAR as I can. And I'm doing everything I can to do that." Kal Penn left House to work as the associate director in the White House Office of Public Liaison under the Obama administration. In 2009, he told Entertainment Weekly, "I was incredibly honored a couple of months ago to get the opportunity to go work in the White House. I got to know the President and some of the staff during the campaign and had expressed interest in working there." He also confirmed he was "taking a huge pay cut" by accepting the job. He said, "There's not a lot of financial reward in these jobs. But, obviously, the opportunity to serve in a capacity like this is an incredible honor." As a theater student at the University of Illinois, Nick Offerman worked in the scene shop, and when he began acting professionally in Chicago, he supplemented his income by building props and sets. Then, when he relocated to LA, he began building decks and cabins, which led to a love for old-world furniture joinery. So, he opened Offerman Woodshop, which is still in operation. He even wrote a book, Good Clean Fun, about working in his shop. His Parks & Recreation character, Ron Swanson, was also a woodworker. Nick told On Being with Krista Tippett, "When people accuse me of masculinity or machismo, I say, 'I understand superficially what you're seeing and hearing. I get the package, but please rest assured that I'm a giggly kid inside this beefy lumberjack.' And so immediately with Ron Swanson — it was interesting, a lot of different parts of the fanbase sort of selectively cherry-pick parts of Ron." He continued, "People would sort of lay this John Wayne, sort of pugilistic idea of masculinity on me. And I would say, 'Why do we have to genderize it?' I think as we are evolving, especially in the field of gender, let's continue to erode these sensibilities. Because when people will say, 'Oh, you're a woodworker? So, like in the garage tools, dad kind of stuff?' And I would say, 'Well, no.' I know what people are saying when they accuse me of being manly, but I say, 'Thank you, but please, I hope you never see my older sister Laurie can wilt me with a glance.' There's power and then there's power." Watching the 1996 Olympic Games inspired Geena Davis to take up archery, practicing five hours a day for six days a week. Within two years, she was good enough to try out for the US Olympic archery team. However, she finished 24th, coming close but not qualifying for the 2000 Olympics. In 2020, she told People, "I had learned sports for a number of movies: I had to learn how to play baseball, and then I had to learn fencing, and TaeKwonDo, and horseback riding, and ice skating, and all kinds of stuff. And I never thought of myself as athletic, but I was actually really good at everything. And so I thought, 'I want to take up a sport in the real-life way and not the movie version, because they can fake anything'...I found a coach and became utterly obsessed. Yeah, I took it up at 41, and it became my life for a couple of years." Steve Martin is a banjo player and Grammy-winning musician. He taught himself to play the instrument at 17. In 2009, he told NPR, "The thing about the banjo is when you first hear it, it strikes many people as 'What's that?' There's something very compelling about it to certain people; that's the way I was, that's the way a lot of banjo players and people who love the banjo are. I'd like to think it's because we're Americans, and the banjo is truly an American instrument, and it captures something about our past." You can hear him playing banjo on Kelly Clarkson's 2023 single "I Hate Love." Listen to it here. At age 38, Seth Rogen picked up pottery. In 2024, he told Q with Tom Power, "I am proud that I took [it] on as an adult. Most adults just don't want to learn new things." The inspiration came from two things he loves: his wife and weed. In 2019, he told Interview Magazine, "My wife has been doing pottery since high school, and she'd been trying to get me to do it for a while. Kind of parallel to that, I had an obsession with ashtrays, so they seemed like a good place to start. For one thing, they're small and kind of easy to make, and because I smoke joints all day, I interact with them a lot. I'm always looking for a little place to rest my joints — a little bed — and I'm always imploring people not to stamp out their joints because it fucks them up. So this became the perfect chance for me to create the exact ashtray I wanted, and then I started making little saucers to rest my ashtray in, which, as it turns out, doubles as another ashtray." Matthew Gray Gubler is a painter. In 2013, he told BuzzFeed, "I always worry about, not worry, but my nightmare is making someone see something in the flesh, and then making them, like, they feel some responsibility to pretend to like it. Like, 'Ohh.' Like you would be like this: I'd be like, 'Oh, here!' and you'd go like, 'Oh, that's great.'" "On the internet, it's this safe space where I can put it up and people can click on it or not. I don't have to be in the same room as them pretending to like it, so I very rarely show people things, and I've made the mistake — like, some people misinterpret my style of painting as offensive, and I've had instances where I've painted beautiful portraits for, like, a girlfriend or someone, and they're just like, they look at it with a grimace and they're like, 'This is terrible. I don't look like this, and you're awful, and you must hate me.' And I'm crushed by it, so I kind of am weird about being in the room when it's shown," he said. You can view an online gallery of his work here. Here's a picture Matthew shared of his mom, Marilyn, with a portrait he painted of her. James Cameron is a deep-sea explorer. In 2012, he became the second person in history (and the first since 1960) to dive to the deepest known point in the world — Challenger Deep, 35,787 ft beneath the Pacific in the Marianas Trench. His expedition was important because it led to more scientific research in the ocean depths. In 2012, he told NPR, "I think the through-line there is storytelling. I think it's the explorer's job to go and be at the remote edge of human experience and then come back and tell that story. So I don't see them as that separately." After adopting her two children, actor Jamie Lee Curtis invented a diaper with an attached moisture-proof pocket for baby wipes. She patented it in 1988. She hasn't allowed the design to hit the market because she's waiting for diaper brands to start selling biodegradable products first. She got a second disposable diaper-related patent in 2017. Neil Young is a model train enthusiast and an inventor whose name is on seven patents related to model trains. He developed a wireless control, which later became the TrainMaster Command Control system, to make model trains accessible for his son Ben, who has cerebral palsy. In 1994, Neil told Nick News, "When I started building the railroad, I built it so that my son and I could have something to do together, especially when we found out how disabled Ben was physically... Ben has taught me you never give up. You can't say, 'This is too hard.' It can't be too hard. There's so many kids with challenges that are so great, and yet they just keep trying. So if I come up against something that's hard to deal with, I can handle it, and it's because of him." Eminem is a skilled Donkey Kong player. In 2010, he reportedly scored quite near the top 30 high-scores in the world. In 2011, he told Rolling Stone that his interest in the arcade game was heightened by the documentary The King of Kong, which was about Donkey Kong champion Steve Wiebe. At the time, Eminem dreamed of beating his record. Before his Riverdale days, Cole Sprouse was putting his archaeology degree to good use. He told Live with Kelly and Ryan, "I had traveled around the world, and I was part of a couple of excavations. And then, I had a job in Brooklyn in some dingy lab in a basement in Williamsburg. And I was just bagging artifacts like a treasure goblin. But, then I came back around [to acting]." He also told Vogue that he found "some spooky stuff" on archeological digs. He said, "I found an old ceramic theatrical mask of Dionysus in Bulgaria, a little Hellenistic settlement." Susan Sarandon co-founded the ping-pong social club franchise SPiN in 2009. She reportedly got involved in the brand after attending one of Jonathan Bricklin and Franck Raharinosy's ping-pong parties. She hired them for a birthday party for her then-partner, Tim Robbins. Shortly after, her relationship with Tim ended, and she started dating Jonathan. So, she became a co-founder and investor in the club idea that Jonathan and Franck developed. Hillary Wolf is most well-known for playing Megan McCallister in the Home Alone franchise, but that's not the only impressive thing she's done! She's been doing judo since age 7, and she competed for the US at two Olympic games — Atlanta in 1996 and Sydney in 2000. Before his music career took off, Jack White worked in upholstery. However, while it stopped being his main focus, he's continuously operated an upholstery shop on his property. You can see some of his furniture designs here. And finally, Old Hollywood actor Hedy Lamarr was an inventor. In 1941, she patented a frequency-hopping technology. Her invention was a forerunner to Bluetooth, GPS, and secure wi-fi. She didn't go to college, and she reportedly started inventing as a hobby because she wasn't interested in drinking or partying like many of her Hollywood peers. Her other inventions included an upgraded traffic light and an Alka-Seltzer-like tablet that turned water into soda. In the documentary Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story, she said, "Inventions are easy for me to do. I don't have to work on ideas. They come naturally." What's your favorite hard-to-believe celebrity fact? Let us know in the comments!
South China Morning Post
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
From Bach to The Beatles, 12-year-old's music therapy for homeless dogs is a hit in the US
It is often said that music is the universal language of humanity. Now, a 12-year-old boy in Houston, in the US state of Texas, is putting that to the test for an unlikely audience: man's best friend. Advertisement Yuvi Agarwal started playing keyboard when he was four years old. Several years ago, he noticed his playing soothed his family's restless golden doodle, Bozo. He wondered if it could also help stressed homeless animals. With help from his parents, who both have backgrounds in marketing, he founded the non-profit organisation Wild Tunes in 2023 to recruit musicians to play in animal shelters. So far he has enlisted about 100 volunteer musicians and singers of all ages and abilities to perform at nine shelters in Houston, New Jersey and Denver, Colorado. Sarah McDonner, a volunteer for Wild Tunes, plays the flute at the Denver Animal Shelter. Photo: AP 'You don't have to understand the lyrics to enjoy the music,' Agarwal says after playing hits such as The Beatles ' 'Hey Jude' and Ed Sheeran 's 'Perfect' on his portable keyboard at the Denver Animal Shelter.
The Independent
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
The 12-year-old boy who set up a charity for musicians to play songs to animals stuck in shelters
Music, often hailed as humanity's universal language, is now being put to an extraordinary test by a 12-year-old Houston boy, who is using its power to soothe some of the most vulnerable members of the animal kingdom: shelter pets. Yuvi Agarwal, who began playing keyboard at the age of four, first noticed the calming effect of his music on his family's restless golden doodle, Bozo. This observation sparked a curiosity: could music similarly alleviate stress in homeless animals? With the support of his parents, both with marketing backgrounds, Yuvi founded the non-profit Wild Tunes in 2023. The organisation recruits volunteer musicians to perform in animal shelters, and has already enlisted around 100 singers and instrumentalists of all ages and abilities, playing at nine shelters across Houston, New Jersey, and Denver. "You don't have to understand the lyrics to enjoy the music. Just enjoy the melody, the harmony and the rhythms. So it transcends linguistic barriers, and even it can just transcend species," Agarwal said recently after playing hits like The Beatles' "Hey Jude" and Ed Sheeran's "Perfect" at the Denver Animal Shelter. Agarwal recounts how many of his four-legged listeners, including cats, initially become excited upon his arrival, only to settle into a state of calm within minutes, some even falling asleep. He vividly recalls a rescue dog named Penelope in Houston who refused to leave her enclosure to eat. "Within a short period of me playing, she went from not even coming out of her kennel to licking me all over my face and nibbling my ears," Agarwal said. The initiative extends beyond Yuvi's personal performances. In Denver, professional musician Sarah McDonner, who met Agarwal in Houston and helped bring the programme to Colorado, played Mozart and Bach on her flute for Max, a one-year-old stray boxer. McDonner believes the programme offers vital positive human interaction. "The animals having that human interaction in a positive way, I think, gives them something to look forward to, something that is different throughout their day," she said, adding that it "makes them more adoptable in the long run." While the calming effect of music on humans is well-documented, its precise role in animal behaviour remains a subject of ongoing research. Several studies suggest classical music can have a soothing influence on dogs in stressful environments like shelters. However, some researchers caution that more data is needed to definitively support these claims. Lori Kogan, chair of the human-animal interaction section of the American Psychological Association and a professor at Colorado State University, has studied human-animal bonds for over two decades. She notes that research on music's effect on dogs often yields mixed results due to numerous variables, including setting, volume, music type, tempo, breed, and prior exposure. "We always want these really simplistic answers. So we want to say that music calms animals, for example, and I think that it's much more nuanced than that," Kogan explained. She advocates for a case-by-case approach, suggesting that if a pet appears calmer and enjoys the music, it provides positive enrichment. Despite the scientific nuances, Yuvi Agarwal views his firsthand experiences in shelters as undeniable proof of music's comforting power for stressed animals. He aims to expand Wild Tunes into a nationwide programme, noting the reciprocal benefits for volunteers. "You get a really great way to practice your instrument or sing in front of a nonjudgmental audience, which can boost your confidence," he said.
Asharq Al-Awsat
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Volunteers Use Universal Language of Music to Soothe Stressed Shelter Animals
It is often said music is the universal language of humanity. Now a 12-year-old Houston boy is putting that to the test among an unlikely audience — man's best friend. Yuvi Agarwal started playing keyboard when he was 4 and several years ago noticed his playing soothed his family's restless golden doodle, Bozo. He grew curious if it also could help stressed homeless animals. With help from his parents, who both have backgrounds in marketing, he founded the nonprofit Wild Tunes in 2023 to recruit musicians to play in animal shelters. So far he has enlisted about 100 volunteer musicians and singers of all ages and abilities to perform at nine shelters in Houston, New Jersey and Denver. 'You don't have to understand the lyrics to enjoy the music. Just enjoy the melody, the harmony and the rhythms. So it transcends linguistic barriers, and even it can just transcend species,' Agarwal said recently after playing hits like The Beatles' 'Hey Jude' and Ed Sheeran's 'Perfect' on his portable keyboard at the Denver Animal Shelter. Agarwal, who was playing for an elderly miniature poodle named Pituca — Spanish slang sometimes used to describe a snob — said many of his four-legged listeners, which include cats, become excited when he enters their kennel. But after a few minutes of playing, they calm down. Some even go to sleep. He remembers a rescue dog named Penelope that refused to come out of her enclosure in Houston to be fed, The Associated Press reported. 'Within a short period of me playing, she went from not even coming out of her kennel to licking me all over my face and nibbling my ears,' Agarwal said. A few stalls down from where he was jamming on his keyboard at the Denver shelter, volunteer Sarah McDonner played Mozart and Bach on her flute for Max, a 1-year-old stray boxer that tilted his head when she hit the high notes. 'The animals having that human interaction in a positive way, I think, gives them something to look forward to, something that is different throughout their day,' said McDonner, a professional musician who met Argawal in Houston. She helped bring the program to Colorado after moving to Denver a few months ago. 'I think it's very important to give them something different from what they're used to in their little tiny cages ... and makes them more adoptable in the long run,' McDonner said. While the effect of music on humans has been studied extensively, its role in animal behavior remains murky. Several studies suggest that classical music generally has a calming influence on dogs in stressful environments like kennels, shelters and veterinary clinics. But some researchers warn there is not enough data to support the claim. 'We always want these really simplistic answers. So we want to say that music calms animals, for example, and I think that it's much more nuanced than that,' said Lori Kogan, a self-described 'dog-person" who chairs the human-animal interaction section of the American Psychological Association. 'There's a lot more research that needs to happen before I think that we can unequivocally say that music is a great thing for animals." Kogan, a professor and researcher at Colorado State University, has studied for more than two decades how animals and humans get along. Research involving the effect of music on dogs often produces mixed results, she said, because there are so many variables: the setting; the volume, type and tempo of the music and the breed of the dog and its previous exposure to music. She suggests a case-by-case approach to introducing music to animals. 'If you play music for your pet, and they seem to like it and they appear calmer, then I think we can say that that's a positive thing, that you're providing some level of enrichment for that pet. ... I would encourage people to give it a try and to see how their pets respond,' she said. For Agarwal, his firsthand experience at shelters is undeniable evidence that music helps comfort stressed animals, and he plans to grow Wild Tunes into a nationwide program. The volunteers get something out of it, too, he said. "You get a really great way to practice your instrument or sing in front of a nonjudgmental audience, which can boost your confidence,' he said.
Washington Post
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
Volunteers use the universal language of music to soothe stressed shelter animals
DENVER — It's often said music is the universal language of humanity. Now a 12-year-old Houston boy is putting that to the test among an unlikely audience — man's best friend. Yuvi Agarwal started playing keyboard when he was 4 and several years ago noticed his playing soothed his family's restless golden doodle, Bozo. He grew curious if it also could help stressed homeless animals. With help from his parents, who both have backgrounds in marketing, he founded the nonprofit Wild Tunes in 2023 to recruit musicians to play in animal shelters. So far he has enlisted about 100 volunteer musicians and singers of all ages and abilities to perform at nine shelters in Houston, New Jersey and Denver. 'You don't have to understand the lyrics to enjoy the music. Just enjoy the melody, the harmony and the rhythms. So it transcends linguistic barriers, and even it can just transcend species,' Agarwal said recently after playing hits like The Beatles' 'Hey Jude' and Ed Sheeran's 'Perfect' on his portable keyboard at the Denver Animal Shelter. Agarwal, who was playing for an elderly miniature poodle named Pituca — Spanish slang sometimes used to describe a snob — said many of his four-legged listeners, which include cats, become excited when he enters their kennel. But after a few minutes of playing, they calm down. Some even go to sleep. He remembers a rescue dog named Penelope that refused to come out of her enclosure in Houston to be fed. 'Within a short period of me playing, she went from not even coming out of her kennel to licking me all over my face and nibbling my ears,' Agarwal said. A few stalls down from where he was jamming on his keyboard at the Denver shelter, volunteer Sarah McDonner played Mozart and Bach on her flute for Max, a 1-year-old stray boxer that tilted his head when she hit the high notes. 'The animals having that human interaction in a positive way, I think, gives them something to look forward to, something that is different throughout their day,' said McDonner, a professional musician who met Argawal in Houston. She helped bring the program to Colorado after moving to Denver a few months ago. 'I think it's very important to give them something different from what they're used to in their little tiny cages ... and makes them more adoptable in the long run,' McDonner said. While the effect of music on humans has been studied extensively, its role in animal behavior remains murky. Several studies suggest that classical music generally has a calming influence on dogs in stressful environments like kennels, shelters and veterinary clinics. But some researchers warn there is not enough data to support the claim. 'We always want these really simplistic answers. So we want to say that music calms animals, for example, and I think that it's much more nuanced than that,' said Lori Kogan, a self-described 'dog-person' who chairs the human-animal interaction section of the American Psychological Association. 'There's a lot more research that needs to happen before I think that we can unequivocally say that music is a great thing for animals.' Kogan, a professor and researcher at Colorado State University, has studied for more than two decades how animals and humans get along. Research involving the effect of music on dogs often produces mixed results, she said, because there are so many variables: the setting; the volume, type and tempo of the music and the breed of the dog and its previous exposure to music. She suggests a case-by-case approach to introducing music to animals. 'If you play music for your pet, and they seem to like it and they appear calmer, then I think we can say that that's a positive thing, that you're providing some level of enrichment for that pet. ... I would encourage people to give it a try and to see how their pets respond,' she said. For Agarwal, his firsthand experience at shelters is undeniable evidence that music helps comfort stressed animals, and he plans to grow Wild Tunes into a nationwide program. The volunteers get something out of it, too, he said. 'You get a really great way to practice your instrument or sing in front of a nonjudgmental audience, which can boost your confidence,' he said.
