The Bold and the Beautiful Star Denise Richards’ Important Message for Pet Owners

Denise Richards, in addition to being a very busy performer and dynamic addition to The Bold and the Beautiful, is a pet advocate. Now, she’s sharing a social media post that serves a warning (granted, it’s an adorable one) to pet lovers everywhere.

Denise Richards: Animal Safety

Richards, who plays Shauna on BB, re-posted an Instagram post that shows what appears to be an adorable dog in a backyard playing with some toys — except it’s not a dog, it’s a coyote or so the folks taking the video appear to think!

The owners of a dog in the video are not letting their beloved pooch go out and play with the wild animal, even though the coyote appears to be playful as evidenced by its playing with some toys!

“I’m so dumb I would’ve gone out and played with the coyote & our dogs toys,” the self-effacing Richards wrote on a post from W4Wild that she reposted. As you can see in the video, the coyote appears to be exhibiting the behavior of a playful dog. But it’s vital not to let our four-legged friends interact with a wild animal like a coyote. Richards’ TV daughter, Katrina Bowden (Flo) posted: “Omg this is actually super cute.”

Other posters speculated that it’s not a coyote at all in the video but rather what could be a Husky. “Looks like a husky of sorts,” posted one follower. “Maybe a neighbors dog that got out. Coyotes are leaner. We back up to open space and see coyotes a lot. Never ever in 28 years has one been this big.”

“[A]greed it’s not a coyote…it a husky mix of some sort. Different fur and body build,” posted another of Richards’ followers.

Either way, the owners of the adorable dog (named Penny) in the video were not about to let their beloved pooch go outside and play with this animal — no matter what it was! Considering how many dogs and cats get killed by coyotes each year, that was smart thinking.

Big kudos to Richards for bringing awareness of potential threats to dogs in her re-post. The Bold and the Beautiful airs weekdays on CBS. Check local listings for air times.