Who is the most famous or infamous person you have ever met?

In 2016, I had lunch with Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer, and his pit bull Junior.

I was getting my lunch at a food truck in Boston’s Christian Science Plaza when I noticed someone asking for a pic with the guy in front of me. I soon figured out it was Cesar Millan, as we had watched his show, Dog Whisperer, many times when we had Teddy.

We sat near each other on a bench and chatted while we ate our lunches. Junior sat at Cesar’s side. Junior is a large and terrifying looking American Pit Bull with wicked eyes, but he was wearing a service dog vest and I figured there was absolutely no way that the Dog Whisperer’s dog would bite me. Theoretically he’s the best trained dog in America. So I relaxed.

I found Cesar to be a very open and warm person. He told me he grew up on his grandfather’s farm in Mexico with lots of dogs. They were very poor. He came to the USA looking for a better life, crossing over the border illegally. He said, “I was a wetback.” Once in LA, he became a sought-after celebrity dog walker, which eventually led to a story in The Los Angeles Times. This eventually led to his wildly successful TV show, which ran on the National Geographic channel from 2004 – 2011.

In 2016, when I met him, he had fallen on somewhat hard times. A wildly expensive divorce and some unscrupulous management had cost him a lot. He was in Boston to do a live stage version of his show in a second-rate venue north of the city. He had a good attitude about it though. He seemed to believe that everything happens for a reason. He had learned to be careful who you trust.

When I got back to the office after lunch, my coworker Tracy, who had declined my invitation to go to the food trucks, was incredulous. She couldn’t believe she had missed the opportunity to meet Cesar Millan! It was pretty funny.