Love, as the saying goes, comes from unexpected places. For Missy Elliott, it was a website called Woofwoofpuppies.com. Around six years ago, the hip-hop legend stumbled upon the website—and after several clicks, what began as a casual browse turned into something more intentional. A few weeks later, a representative from Woof Woof Puppies was at her door, a Yorkie puppy in hand. Elliott named her Fendi Dior.
“She’s a queen,” Elliott says of Fendi six years later. She’s currently on her first-ever headlining tour—in a few hours, she’ll take the stage at Newark’s Prudential Center along with Ciara, Busta Rhymes, and Timbaland. Fendi will be waiting for her back in the dressing room wearing a bedazzled pink collar and a matching dress. “I like to dress her in a lot of dresses—because people see her and if she don’t have on a dress, they’d be like, ‘Oh, he’s so adorable.’ I’m like, ‘No! She’s a girl,’” she says. After the show, Elliott will put her in a stroller and they’ll roll together out of the stadium.
For the past two months, Fendi and Elliott have been traversing the country via tour bus along with Ciara and her dog Love. Elliott was originally worried that Fendi wouldn’t adapt to her new roaming environment. “She’s spent a lot of her years in the house,” she says. But it was an unnecessary worry. “She’s made for the road,” Elliott says proudly. (With the exception of Denver: “The altitude,” her owner says, shrugging.)
Fendi’s ability to thrive on tour has helped her owner thrive too. “I feel like her being here has kept me relaxed—because she’s truly my best friend,” Elliott says. “She’ll play with other people for a second and then she’s looking to see where I’m at.” Even trying to bribe Fendi with a treat will prove unsuccessful—Elliott tells Vogue she doesn’t really like them. (She does, however, love Cesar dog food cups and chicken.)
Fendi’s palate isn’t the only human-like trait about her. Eliott says her barks resemble the phonetics of the English language: “It sounds like she’s talking when she’s in her stroller and trying to get down, or she wants attention.” Fendi also doesn’t play with toys. (“She’s too grand for that,” Elliott explains.) But the two most anthropomorphic things about Fendi? Her love of Elliott’s music, especially the song “Lose Control”— “she always seemed to jump down off of the chair when that’s on,” she says—and her energy in front of the camera. Whip one out, and Fendi somehow immediately knows to strike a pose. “She’s a star,” says Elliott.
To end with another saying—it takes one to know one.
Below, Missy Elliott and Fendi answer Vogue’s Dogue questionnaire.
Missy
What is your dog’s best quality?
She has a sweetheart. If I’m feeling down or anything, she knows and comes to sit beside me.
Who would voice your dog in a movie?
Angela Bassett. She’s spunky to me.
Where is one place you wish you could take your dog?
Maybe if they had a Six Flags for dogs. Or a dog spa.
Where is the strangest place you’ve taken your dog?
Probably for her, the vet.
If you could tell your dog one thing, what would it be?
You are amazing.
Fendi
What is your full name?
Fendi Dior Elliott
Astrological sign?
Capricorn
Favorite meal?
Chicken and Cesar cups
