Rachel Bilson once fulfilled her daughter’s Christmas wishes with the addition of a new furry friend.
The 42-year-old actress, who recently teamed up with Rachael Ray’s Nutrish to help bring back animals from a Los Angeles shelter, tells PEOPLE exclusively about the story behind adopting her now 3-year-old shelter pup, Gertie, for daughter Briar Rose, 9. .
“It was Christmas time and all my daughter wanted was a dog for Christmas,” says Bilson. “And that was one of those things that we were able to get [Gertie]because she wanted a small dog, and they are sometimes harder to come by.”
“This family couldn’t receive her, so I literally picked her up on Christmas Eve and it was a Christmas miracle,” he adds. OC. alum. – So, we were very lucky.
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Rachel Bilson.
Gonzalo Marroquin/Getty Images for Nutrish
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Gertie, Bilson tells PEOPLE, is a Shih-Tzu mix with a very special personality.
“She is very stubborn,” says the star with a laugh. “I appreciate how confident she is. She stands up for what she believes in and I think that’s a good example.”
Despite being short, Bilson adds that Gertie doesn’t let her small size stop her from “anything.”
“She’s eight pounds, but she thinks she’s about 70 pounds and could hold her own against anything,” Welcome to OC, bitches! podcast host says.
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Rachel Bilson.
Gonzalo Marroquin/Getty Images for Nutrish
According to Bilson, life with Gertie couldn’t be better either, although she and her daughter recently forgot to mark a special occasion in the pup’s life.
“I realized this morning that my daughter and I looked at each other and said, ‘We missed Gertie’s birthday,'” she says. “And we couldn’t believe it because her birthday is so close to my daughter’s.”
“We were so caught up in my daughter’s birthday… and we felt so bad,” she continues. “So we’ll bring her a little dog cake and make it up to her.”
Bilson adds, “It’s like having kids, your brain just stops working completely.”
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Rachel Bilson.
Gonzalo Marroquin/Getty Images for Nutrish
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Bilson’s love for animals goes beyond her love. The star gave back this week to the Pasadena Humane, an animal shelter in California, which she told PEOPLE she’s “such a fan of.”
“I think they’re doing such a great job,” Bilson says. “It was great to come together and help such a great organization with Nutrish, and bring attention to all these animals that need homes and other things like medical care.”
Bilson also notes that Gertie herself is a fan of the Nutrish treats, which are distributed to many animals at the shelter.
“She loves treats,” explains the dog’s proud mom. “Treats, you can’t go wrong. Let me tell you. The pickiest will eat the treats.”
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