Rob Lowe wants you to adopt a shelter pet − if you do this first

April 30, 2026Updated May 1, 2026, 4:16 p.m. ETRob Lowe has a soft spot for shelter dogs. His first shelter pet joined the family when he was a kid, and alongside wife Sheryl Berkoff, he's fostered and arranged adoptions for up to 20 pets at a time in "shelter sweeps.""I would like everybody to have a pet in their life," Lowe said. "And I also would like pets to be properly cared for and healthy."Lowe has a perennial houseful of dogs. The current family pets include Daisy, Oscar and Bob, Jack Russell terriers who are all semi-related to the dog Lowe and Berkoff had when their sons Matthew, 33, and John Owen, 30, were kids. Owen and Olive, German shorthaired pointer half-siblings, and Bella, which Lowe calls a "an amazing mix of blankety blank and Chihuahua," round out the pack.In honor of Adopt a Shelter Pet Day, the actor and "chief pet advocate" for Ultimate Pet Nutrition spoke to USA TODAY Pets about what to consider before you adopt, his non-negotiable daily ritual with his dogs and his favorite on-set moments with his pets.What to consider before adopting a shelter petBefore you adopt, consider if the dog breed is the