With a husband, two kids and two dogs, Neil Patrick Harris is no stranger to a busy household. However, that didn’t stop him from adding one more furry family member into the mix. This Christmas, the How I Met Your Mother star and his family welcomed a golden retriever puppy into their home.
During a recent interview with PureWow about his latest partnership with PayPal and Venmo, the 47-year-old actor also opened up his “little girl,” Ella, including how she got her name.
“Ella is short for Eleanor which is David's [Burtka] grandmother's name,” Harris said. “We tried to come up with a name that would be easy for the dogs to understand. We already have a Gidget, which is a lot of tongue action. We have a Spike which is a strong single syllable and we wanted to come up with a feminine name that was easy to understand for them. So, Eleanor became Ella and it's good—it's easy to say.”
Of course, that wasn’t the only name the family of four considered. He continued, “I wanted to name her Baby because I thought it would be funny as she is to be 100 pounds or something. Like if we called her Baby while she towered over the other dogs. But Harper wanted a girl name.”
With three girls and four boys, the Gone Girl star admits that things have “been busy.” “David said this, and I kind of agree, having three dogs is almost easier than two because when they’re being rambunctious they usually have an additional playmate,” he stated. “I don't envy the corners of our furniture. Because they are slowly getting chewed down to nonexistence but we are slowly pivoting to a chew toy. We're also stocking up on floor cleaner because that dog will pee right in front of you. You’ll take this girl outside and she’ll go and then five minutes later she’ll do it again right in front of you. I don’t know if she’s learned that yet but she’s so cute I can’t admonish her. Can't get mad at this cute little angel dog.” We know the feeling.
Welcome to the fam, Ella!
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