John Sessa (on Vanderpump Dogs, LVP, RHOBH, & Vanderpump Rules)

BEHIND THE VELVET ROPE

David Yontef

Society & Culture, News, Tv & Film, Entertainment News

4 • 3K Ratings

🗓️ 1 June 2021

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Dr. John Sessa steps Behind The Rope. Yes, That John Sessa. Executive Director of Vanderpump Dogs. John Sessa, as seen on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Season Nine. You remember that season, no? Thank you Lucy Lucy Apple Juice. Originally from a farm in Northwest Indiana, John never foresaw his current LA life of working with The Vanderpumps. Ok let us start at the beginning. John first met Lisa Vanderpump right after Giggy won “Reality TV’s Most Famous Dog” Award. It was during one of their first meetings that the idea for Vanderpump Pets was born. John explains how Vanderpump Pets, an idea which started with simple, ok its LVP so let's use the word simple loosely, dog collars grew into a real legitimate bona fide business. He also talks to us about how Vanderpump Dogs was eventually born out of Vanderpump Pets after Lisa Vanderpump became aware of the dog abuse taking place in Yulin, China. John discusses some of the current initiatives Vanderpump Dogs are working on, the process of how a dog gets “Vanderpuffed” once rescued and the infamous Vanderpump Dogs Annual Gala. Speaking of Vanderpump Dogs, John fills us in on the much anticipated “Vanderpump Dogs” Series and lets us know when we can expect to see the finished product online. We discuss who in the Vanderpump Rules cast he turned to for on camera reality TV advice and who in the Vanderpump Rules cast he is closest to. Of course, we discuss all things LVP from Villa Rosa, to what Lisa is like off camera, to what are the biggest misconceptions of Lisa and the rest of The Vanderpumps. Obviously, we asked John about "Lucy Lucy Apple Juice" and just where do these dogs' names come from? John talks about how The Vanderpumps are doing, when he last spoke to them, Lisa’s Podcast, the status of all of Lisa and Ken’s restaurants and what we can expect next from the great work that Vanderpump Dogs has been doing. @drjohnsessa @vanderpumpdogs @vanderpumppets @behindvelvetrope @davidyontef BONUS EPISODES Available at - https://www.patreon.com/behindthevelvetrope This episode is brought to you by STORYWORTH https://www.storyworth.com/velvet ($10 off First Purchase) MERCH Available at - https://www.teepublic.com/stores/behind-the-velvet-rope?ref_id=13198 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey guys, this is David, welcome back behind the Velvet Rope.
0:29.9	Let's just get right into it today because we are joined from what I hope is sunny California by the one with the one and only Mr. John Sessa. How are you?
0:40.9	Hi, how are you? Thanks for having me. What's going on with you today?
0:45.7	Another crazy day at the rescue center, of course. I'm here in West Hollywood at the Vanderbilt dogs rescue center. So we are rescuing dogs and we've got.
0:54.3	I hope you don't hear them in the background. We've got about 25 dogs barking.
0:58.2	Wow, no, I cannot hear any. So I mean, especially if there's 25, they're really quiet.
1:03.2	Good, good.
1:04.9	So what have you been doing throughout quarantine? Have you been working like throughout the whole thing? Like was the center shut for a minute or?
1:12.6	Well, thankfully we were considered an essential business because we were rescuing. So we were really only shut down one day or a couple of days when the pandemic really kind of hit.
1:22.8	And then we were shut down for about a day and a half when the rights were here just because they were about a block and a half away from us.
1:29.8	It is done. Oh, God, I'm sorry.
1:32.2	Oh, no, we have been, I mean, thankfully we've been open and we've been rescuing. The great thing is is that people have been home.
1:39.8	And so a lot of people that have put off getting a dog now were rescuing. So when the first, I'd say first four months of the pandemic.
1:48.4	So March, April, May and June, we were seeing triple adoption rates. So we were thankful that we were able to kind of accommodate the people that wanted a dog.
1:57.4	Just because what like people are home and why not have an extra member of the family.
2:02.4	Well, yeah, and I think a lot of people who traveled a lot for work or people that were lonely, you know, that maybe if they were single in a one bedroom or something, they're like, you know, I'm home now and I normally would go to work and then go out to dinner with my friends.
2:15.4	And now I'm home. So I kind of want that that that furry companion. So we did see a lot of our adoption rates go up at the original part of, you know, at the beginning, but the things have been kind of stable now.
2:26.4	That makes sense. Like if you're home during COVID alone.
2:30.4	Don't you want someone to snuggle up to? Yeah.
2:32.4	Kind of. I mean, that makes sense to me. Now you're not from LA originally, right?
2:38.4	No, I'm from a small town in Northwest Indiana.
2:42.4	How was that growing up there? Well, I grew up on I grew up on a farm. We had cattle and chickens and and so I think that's kind of where the love animals came from.
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