Entertainment
The purpose of becoming a contestant on The Bachelor is to find romance. The 29 women featured on Arie's Bachelor season are ready to lock down a soulmate, a partner, a true love to spend their lives with. But some of those women already have a special someone waiting for them at home — but maybe not who'd you'd expect. After some serious investigative journalism, Bustle has learned that this season of The Bachelor is full of dog lovers, with some of the cutest faces on the planet holding down the fort for them at home.
Many of Season 22's Bachelor hopefuls have shared photos of pets and pet-friends, in all their cuddly glory, with the world through their social media accounts. Even if some of the pups don't seem to be their own, it seems that the majority of this season's cast definitely find time in their lives for furry friends either through taking care of their own, nabbing dogsitting dates, or hijacking some of their friends' pets. After scouring all their Instagram feeds, I can tell that those women Arie sends home before the final rose will still be getting lots of snuggles when they return.
Let's take a look at not only the very good boys this cast of animal lovers have filled their lives with, but also some honorable mentions who deserve a little credit as well.
Rebecca
Rebecca has shared countless photos of herself and this little fella on her social media, always snuggling and delivering smooches. "Full disclaimer: I will never look at anyone the way I look at this chicken nugget," she wrote in a post from March along with a throwback photo of her smiling down at this dog. Good luck taking this one's place, Arie.
Kendall
Kendall's big boy, Odin, obviously holds a special place in her heart. "I try to keep his ego down but he is just so darn good looking," she wrote earlier this year as the caption to a photo of Odin laying across a leather couch, obviously showcasing his modeling skills. "He knows it."
Krystal
Krystal's got another very happy boy at home — Wayne. He appears in some of the fitness guru's posts and always looks to be in a state of pure peace. "#PetParentsRock," Krystal wrote in another post with "Wayney," as she affectionately calls him. He also apparently accompanies her to beach yoga, looking on and probably providing constructive criticism as she poses, especially in Downward Facing Dog.
Brittany
Brittany's dog is so joyful looking that it is likely to cause your heart physical pain. He never seems to be without a smile, and she's posted several pictures of him strutting his stuff for all the world to see. She's apparently had him for an incredibly long time, making their bond even cuter. "Throwing it back to 10 years ago when this little nug was just a pup," she wrote with a photo of a sleepy, much younger dog.
Lauren
Lauren has also had her dog for a large chunk of her life, captioning one photo, "So glad I stopped to pick him up 6 years ago." Tucker, as this little one seems to be named, is likely going to be a hard face to leave while Lauren sets off to film The Bachelor. Lauren's love for dogs doesn't seem to stop with Tucker, either. She's frequently shared photos in the past of either dogs she wishes she could adopt or pups she's just hanging out with and dogsitting.
Maquel
This seems to be the only dog photo featured on Maquel's Instagram account, but, oh my goodness, is it ever adorable. Ombre jobs gone wrong are almost never a good thing, but when it's blue and on a big fluff ball, I'm all about it.
Lauren B.
Lauren B. describes this big hunk of love as her "BFFL," and is always posting pictures of his adorable mug. "Couldn't possibly love this little punkin any more!" she wrote alongside a photo of the two of them at a pumpkin patch in November of last year. His name is Dallas, and according to her Instagram, Lauren B. has loved him for years.
Jenna
It doesn't appear as though Jenna is always with this little guy, as she's posted about "missing" him. Whether she's just frequently traveling or he's her family's dog, it's clear that she loves the rambunctious and tiny cutie. Though her social media is mostly filled with fitness content, there's no doubt she likes to make time for pups when she can.
Jacqueline
Jaqueline has posted photos of Camden, this happy boy, several times on her Instagram account. She apparently also doesn't discriminate when it comes to her love for animals — she's also shared snaps of herself snuggling cats, hanging with ducklings, and admiring tiny turtles.
Caroline
Caroline, it seems, tends to envy her friends' pups rather than have one of her own, at least judging from Instagram posts from a few years ago. "I'm just going to stick him in my purse and see if the owner even notices," she quipped in 2015 along with a photo of her holding a puppy.
Annaliese
Annaliese has posted a few photos with dogs, and it's rarely the same one twice, making it seem as though she covers a lot of ground (I'm jealous.) Whether she's getting kisses from a shaggy Parisian dog or just hanging out in the park, she obviously loves them. Even more present on her account are cats, so she definitely seems like a bona fide animal lover.
Chelsea
Not only does Chelsea have a little boy at home, but it seems like she also has a furry friend for the two of them to enjoy. At least in some older photos of her little family, this pup was frequently included, and she even referred to it as her son's best friend.
Obviously, no matter how The Bachelor ends up going for these women, they'll be OK. They may leave the competition without finding true love in a human, but there's really no heartbreak a good cuddle with a dog can't fix.