The story of Cesar Millan is often seen as
a typical rags to riches tale about a young man from Mexico crossing the border in pursuit
of the American dream. While that's more or less how things happened,
the reality of Millan's eventful life is a little more complicated. While Millan became known to millions of viewers
worldwide as the Dog Whisperer, his off-camera life has been anything but quiet. He was bullied for his love of dogs Millan grew up on his grandfather's farm in
Sinaloa, in northwestern Mexico. During this time he became accustomed to working
with a variety of animals, though he claims to have had a "natural way with dogs" from
a very young age. This connection with canines was so strong
that MIllan found himself being followed by dogs every time he left his home, a fact that
didn't go unnoticed by the other kids. He was constantly teased by his peers, who
started calling him El Perrero, which, according to Millan, roughly translates to "the Dirty
Dog Boy." Millan refused to let bullying change his
mind about his love of dogs. Instead, he concentrated on making his dream
a reality from a young age. By the time he was 13 years old he had laid
out plans to become the best dog trainer in the world — and he'd decided that the best
place to begin his takeover was the US. Inspired by the immaculately well-trained
performing dogs he saw in TV reruns of Lassie and The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, Millan
set his sights on Hollywood, convinced his talents would be most welcome there. He entered the US illegally In 1991, Millan made his way from his home
to a Tijuana bus station with $100 to his name, seeking transportation across the border. When he finally found a way out of Mexico
via a hole in the border fence, he was forced to pay $100 — every cent he had — in order
to pass through. Millan entered the United States with no money,
no friends, little to no knowledge of the English language, and nowhere to live. He spent his early days in America living
homeless on the streets of San Diego, sleeping under a freeway and surviving on nothing but
convenience store hot dogs. Millan recalled that he could get two hot
dogs for 99 cents at the time, meaning all he had to do to survive was somehow make a
dollar a day. Many hot dogs later, he managed to land his
first real job Stateside. He found work as a dog groomer Using the first English sentence he ever learned
… "I learned to say "do you have application
for work?" That was the first sentence I'm gonna learn." … Millan managed to arrange some part-time
hours in a local dog groomer's office. The owners were instantly impressed with his
assertive handling of larger, aggressive dogs that had previously been impossible to control. Millan saw the value in this and, after moving
to Inglewood, decided to start charging for a group dog-walking service. He quickly attracted attention with his unusual
— and very much illegal — style of walking his group off leash, quickly earning a reputation
as "the Mexican guy who can walk a pack of dogs." Some of his first clients were Will and Jada
Pinkett Smith, who paid for Millan to have a year of English language lessons. His reputation grew quickly Millan and his dog-walking business spread
like wildfire by word of mouth, and he eventually earned enough money to open his Dog Psychology
Center in South Central Los Angeles. His success at rehabilitating dogs with particularly
troublesome pasts lead to him being profiled in a 2002 edition of the L.A. Times, and the
reaction was huge. The story led a string of producers to his
door hoping to create a new TV show highlighting Millan's techniques, and the trainer signed
on to front Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan soon after. The National Geographic Channel ended up picking
up the show for 26 episodes after Animal Planet refused to commit beyond a pilot. He has been involved in a number of lawsuits Things weren’t all sunshine and rainbows
for Millan, however. " … it's alright, it's alright." The Dog Whisperer star was the subject of
two lawsuits in a single week in 2006, the first involving his former publicist Makeda
Smith and her partner Foster Corder. The couple claimed that they had come up with
the name "Dog Whisperer" while in discussion with Millan. After they received no recognition of their
contribution they decided to sue the National Geographic Channel, asking for $5 million
in damages. Millan was in hot water again days later when
8 Simple Rules producer Flody Suarez claimed that his five-year-old Labrador retriever
Gator was subjected to inhumane treatment at the celebrity trainer's facility. Suarez's lawsuit stated that Gator was covered
with bruises and gasping for breath after being forced to run on a treadmill. The producer went on to describe how a choke
chain had caused damage to Gator's esophagus and that surgery was needed to correct it,
with the vet's bills totaling more than $25,000. He has been accused of animal cruelty "Cesar Millan … AKA the dog whisperer, is
under fire, for of all things, animal cruelty." The incident with Gator the Labrador is not
the only allegation of animal cruelty Millan has faced. American Humane, the oldest national organization
specializing in the protection of animals, revealed they had sent a letter to the National
Geographic Channel in 2006. The letter in question expressed outrage about
the "inhumane" and "potentially harmful" tactics employed on Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan. Other critics of Millan's methods include
certified animal behavior consultant and pet journalist Steve Dale, who refers to Millan
as the "Dog Screamer," along with British television personality Alan Titchmarsh, who
berated Millan over his "barbaric" techniques during an interview on his afternoon TV show. He hit hard times in 2010 2010 was a terrible year for Millan, starting
off in the worst possible way when his sidekick Daddy died of cancer at the age of 16. "He helped me for 16 years. You know I don't think I did much for him,
as much as he did for me." The gentle giant, whom he'd adopted from rapper
Redman, was not just Millan's assistant on the show — he was his best friend off camera. Sadly, Milan barely had time to mourn the
loss when he was hit with more bad news. The following month, his wife of 16 years
informed him she had filed for divorce. Millan was forced to assess his finances,
and that was when the third blow came: He soon realized that, despite being one of the
most recognizable TV personalities in America, he'd made a series of bad business decisions
that had left him with little to show for his nationwide fame. He tried to end it all In 2012, Millan opened up about the full extent
of what he'd gone through two years earlier. He claimed he'd lost his "source of calmness"
when his beloved dog Daddy died, and the added pressure of his divorce and financial woes
sent him into a downward spiral of depression. The famous trainer got to the point where
he didn't want to be alive anymore, taking what he described as "a whole bunch of pills"
and hoping not to wake up. Fortunately for Millan, his sons discovered
him before it was too late and he was rushed to the hospital. He later talked about how regaining consciousness
in a ward full of patients who loved his show helped him to get back on track with his life. He used his own methods to bounce back Millan was offered antidepressants after he
failed to take his own life, though he decided that the best way to heal was to practice
what he preached. In place of pills, Millan devised a rehabilitation
schedule based on his knowledge of pack life, using exercise, discipline and affection to
conquer his depression — and it seems to have worked wonders. His path led him to new partner Jahira Dar
— whom Millan credits as being instrumental in his recovery — along with a series of
new opportunities in television. He was soon back on small screens everywhere
in Cesar Millan's The Leader of the Pack and Cesar 911. He's even branched out to younger audiences,
working alongside his son Calvin in Nickelodeon's live action series Mutt and Stuff. Thanks for watching! Click the Looper icon to subscribe to our
YouTube channel. Plus check out all this cool stuff we know
you'll love, too!
