Who doesn’t love to have a faithful furry friend? Many figure skaters have cats, dogs or even some more rare pets at home they share their lives with. Let some skaters introduce their four-legged friends.

Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Goldy

The 2024 ISU Pair Skating World Champion Deanna Stellato-Dudek’s companion is dog Goldy, who sometimes travels even with her to events in Canada. 

 “Goldy is 3 years young and I got her on my 40th birthday,” Stellato-Dudek said. “Maxime (Deschamps) and Josée (Picard, coach) surprised me with Goldy as a birthday gift. I always asked to go to dog stores when we were in other countries so they knew the kind of dog I wanted.

 “Goldy is such a sweet little dog and she means more to me than words can say. She brings so much love, comfort, and joy into every single day. Life is simply better with Goldy by my side.“

Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Goldy © Deanna Stellato-Dudek

Ilia Malinin and the “Quadcats”

Almost a year ago, the “Quadcats” Mysti and Miu Miu joined the family of three-time ISU Figure Skating World Champion Ilia Malinin. The “Quad God” is probably one of the most famous cat dads these days. Spending time with his cats helps him to relax. Just recently Ilia adopted a third ragdoll cat. Her name is Mila.

“It was simple, I was feeling lonely at home, so it was a gift from my mom,” Malinin said. “She promised me that if I won my second Worlds that she would let me get a cat. We were planning to get one cat and we did research and learned when we're always traveling so far it might feel lonely. So we made a decision to get another cat to keep it company while I'm gone. 

“They are ragdoll cats and one of them is a very rare breed, it is a charcoal black ragdoll. They comfort me and they take a lot of time out of my day.”

Malinin cares not only about his own cats. He graces the cover of Cero magazine and the proceeds from direct sales of the magazine go to a network of animal welfare organizations and shelters.

Ilia Malinin and Miu Miu © Ilia Malinin

Charlène Guignard & Marco Fabbri and Molly 

Three-time ISU Ice Dance European Champions Charlène Guignard & Marco Fabbri picked a chinchilla as their pet. Molly celebrated her sixth birthday just recently. 

 “We have had her since July 2020,” Marco Fabbri shared. “We’ve always been animal lovers and we would have loved to get a dog. Unfortunately, our life was too busy to take care of a dog back in 2020 considering that it would have required a lot of attention and time. However, we still felt the need and desire of having a pet in our apartment and we looked for an “uncommon” pet. Chinchillas are not common at least in Italy. That’s how we ended up getting our little Molly.

“Molly is the first animal Charlène and I bought together, which is why she’s so special to us and so spoiled. She’s our little princess and she keeps making us smile when we get back home after a tough day. We simply love her.“

Charléne and Marco with their Chinchilla Molly  © Charléne and Marco

Jennifer Janse van Rensburg & Benjamin Steffan with Geralt and Mila

Five-time German Ice Dance Champions Jennifer Janse van Rensburg & Benjamin Steffan are not a couple away from the ice but they have many things in common and they are both proud dog parents. Van Rensburg has a cocker spaniel named Geralt while Steffan has a labrador called Mila. 

Jennifer Janse van Rensburg: „We got Geralt in 2020, during Covid times. He is like my baby with fur. My husband wanted to make it easier for me and took Geralt with him to Great Britain while I was preparing for Worlds and that month was the hardest time without Geralt. It is so nice to come home to someone who is waiting for me and happy to see. 

Geralt plays an important role in where I am now. He helps me to calm down.”

Geralt is named after the character Geralt of Rivia from the series “The Witcher”. „He has the same golden eyes.“

Benjamin Steffan: “I got Mila together with my wife – she has had Mila for ten years and so I got them together as a package. 

„Mila is a wonderful source of balance. She brightens everyone’s day and is a calming influence. When things start to get a little overwhelming, you look over at Mila’s spot, and there she is, lying there, totally relaxed. That helps us calm down, too. Mila actually comes along to practice almost every time. It’s just become a ritual. You develop a very special bond with a pet. You just have to love her.“

Jennifer and Bejamin and their dogs, Mila and Geralt  © ISU

More skaters & more pets

Two-time ISU European Champion Adam Siao Him Fa got Pomsky Luna in summer 2024. “I just love her,” he said. “I had a cat before but when my girlfriend and I split up, she kept the cat. After a while I told myself I’m missing having a pet and I was thinking of getting another cat. One evening, I was on the tram, I saw someone with his dog and the dog was so cute. I asked what kind of dog that was and it was a Pomsky. I did some research and then I adopted my dog.”

Luna travels along with Adam to his summer training camps. “She makes a great companion”, he noted.

Adam and his dog Luna  © ISU

The 2022 Olympic Pair Skating Champion Wenjing Sui has a very rare pet, a meerkat. Now, after retiring from competitive skating, Sui has a dream: “I’d like to travel around in a camper van with my pet meerkat and sell coffee.”

Wenjing Sui shows the picture of her and her meerkat  © ISU / Wenjing Sui