Hoarder Alert! Mary Poppins' Ruth Gottschall on Her Dog's Stowaway Skills

After a two-show day, Broadway’s pet-owning performers love nothing more than coming home to their number one fan: a loyal four-legged friend. In honor of the annual Broadway Barks dog and cat adoption event, coming up on July 9 in Shubert Alley, we asked stage stars to show their puppy—and kitty!—love by telling us all about their furry pals.

RUTH GOTTSCHALL (Miss Andrew in Mary Poppins)

What is your pet’s name and breed?
Gretchen, a wire-hair dachshund, and Martini, a Havanese.

How did your pet get its name?
We adopted Gretchen from Petfinder.com when she was very young, so we decided to change her name from "Uschi" (German meaning "little she bear"). We had another dachshund named Moose at the time and we thought it might get confusing with all the "oo" sounds! Martini was already Martini when she came to us a year ago. At seven pounds her nickname is "Tini."

What is your pet’s favorite pastime?
Other than eating, of course, I'd say napping. Sounds good, huh?

Does your pet know any tricks?
They both know how to be ridiculously adorable.

What’s the funniest thing your pet has done?
Martini hoards our things in her bed. One night after the show, I found her in her bed curled around my sneaker, my hat, my husband's slipper and two and a half pairs of socks.

What’s the naughtiest thing your pet has done?
Gretchen stole, and ate, a chocolate bar out of my friend's purse. She had to undo the zipper to get it, so maybe that goes under "tricks"?

Do you look like your pet?
More and more every day!

Keep checking back for more pet profiles from your favorite stars.