Paris Hilton gets candid about how pets prepared her for motherhood

Paris Hilton is giving her children a major learning i.e. how to love and empathize with animals.

The Hottie and Nottie star, 44, talked exclusively with People magazine and shared the importance of loving animals. "I've been an animal lover my entire life, and I think it's so important to really instill that into your children."

The multi-hyphenate star noted that her kids have “been around animals since they were born.”

"They love them so much, and they're so gentle with them, and so kind and so loving," she continues, adding that introducing children to animals "really teaches them love, responsibility and empathy, as well as being kind and how to take care of something."

"I love that my kids love animals just as much as me," elucidated Hilton, who recently released her new children's television show, Paris & Pups.

Hilton has never hidden her love for animals, especially the small dogs that have followed her through every stage of her life. Her first was Tinkerbell, the teacup Chihuahua who became a fixture on The Simple Life and a constant presence by Hilton’s side.

“Tinkerbell was my first love, and just my best friend, my sister, my sidekick, my family — my everything,” Hilton says, remembering the pup who died in 2015 at 14 years old.

Looking back, she said caring for her pets helped prepare her for raising children. “My dogs are my first babies before I had kids,” she shared. “They have brought so much happiness into my life, and they bring so much love to your life.”

Hilton and husband Carter Reum welcomed their son Phoenix in January 2023, followed by daughter London that November.