Advocate For Equality - Human And Animal
The Word From Orange is the New Black’s Selenis Leyva
By Rhea Dhanbhoora
He thinks he’s a cat, she thinks she’s a dog. He’s Zeus, a ShihTzu-Maltese, she’s a tuxedo cat aptly named Oreo, and they’re Selenis Leyva’s beloved fur babies. The “Orange is the New Black” and “A Diary of A Future President” star speaks to PET LIFESTYLES about animals, advocacy, and her book, “My Sister: How One Sibling’s Transition Changed Us Both.”
She’s in the middle of a busy day, but Selenis is still more than happy to talk to us as length about her pets. She’s about to receive the Human Rights Campaign’s “Ally For Equality Award,” she’s been on the silver screen, in films, in off-Broadway hits and garnered numerous accolades along the way. But for all her laurels, interviewing her is like slipping into easy conversation, an engaging discourse about animals and activism.
BUILDING A FAMILY
Selenis has two fur babies: Oreo, an adorable tuxedo cat, and Zeus, a “ridiculously handsome” ShihTzu-Maltese. Oreo’s heartwarming story starts seven years ago in New York City, where Selenis’ daughter noticed a litter of kittens outside their apartment that they then began to feed regularly. Determined to help them, Selenis got a TNR (Trap Neuter & Release) certification. But the story takes a slightly tragic turn when the litter began to shrink. They didn’t know what happened, although Selenis mentions they may have seen one little accident down the road. When she noticed that Oreo was alone, she contacted the TNR specialist in charge of the area, borrowed a trap and managed to bring her home before winter set in.
As a rescue, Oreo took time to adjust to her new surroundings. “It took two months before she let us touch her,” Selenis reveals. But, with enough patience and love, Selenis and her daughter managed to make Oreo so comfortable that she now sleeps with them, lets them carry her and is “the sweetest cat.”
It wasn’t long before Oreo got a playmate. Three months after they brought Oreo in, they met a couple at PETCO with a basket of dogs. “We ended up meeting them a few hours later in a parking lot and got Zeus, the only boy in the litter,” she laughs. Because he’d been taken from his mother too young, Selenis had to wait awhile to get his shots (“He looked like a cotton ball!”). But Oreo loved her canine buddy from day one. “They’re inseparable,” Selenis shares. Ask if she plans to add to the family and she answers in the affirmative, adding that her only trepidation is Oreo and Zeus are so attached to her, she’s unsure how a new addition will affect them. “If it were up to me, I would have a farm with every animal under the sun. That’s my retirement dream,” she reveals.
ANIMALS ON SET
While the two fur babies aren’t happy when she is away, Selenis makes sure they never spend a day alone. And, during the pandemic, they all spent a lot more time together. They’ve noticed she’s back at work, so they are getting clingier, waiting for her in their beds by the door. The two have a special bedtime routine where they get a dental treat—which they love so much they “go to the cabinet, sit there and look at me. You can tell that they’re going, ‘This is what we do, Mommy, don’t forget,’” she explains.
She’s currently filming in California, where all her babies are with her. “When people ask me how many kids I have, I say ‘Well, I have three. Two of them are fur babies. One is a human!’,” she reveals, not entirely joking. They’re also her emotional support—a sentiment that, as she says, “anyone who gets how special animals are will understand.”
“I swear, it’s like I gave birth to them,” she laughs, adding that if not for the pandemic, Zeus would be on set like he was for “Orange is The New Black”, a very dog-friendly show. “Every single person had dogs on the set, the dogs had T-shirts that said, ‘Orange is the New Black’ and there were parties specifically for them,” she adds.
ADVOCACY AND ANIMAL WELFARE
While the two fur babies aren’t happy when she is away, Selenis makes sure they never spend a day alone. And, during the pandemic, they all spent a lot more time together. They’ve noticed she’s back at work, so they are getting clingier, waiting for her in their beds by the door. The two have a special bedtime routine where they get a dental treat—which they love so much they “go to the cabinet, sit there and look at me. You can tell that they’re going, ‘This is what we do, Mommy, don’t forget,’” she explains.
A STORY WORTH TELLING
The actress and activist is also co-author of “My Sister: How One Sibling’s Transition Changed Us Both.” It’s a powerful, moving book, as impactful a read as it is enjoyable, and Selenis expounds on its message, saying, “When people start having conversations, when they start exploring something that they may not have a lot of knowledge about, it changes their perspective. So I’m hoping our book changes someone’s outlook on what it is to be a transgender person and what it is to be gay and what it is to be different. It’s a book for any human being who wants to grow and be more accepting of others.”
Unfortunately, it was released the week everything went into lockdown. Still, she says, “It’s good to know that no matter what, our story, Marizol’s story, is out there, and it’s [in English and Spanish] available everywhere.” While not as many people will have heard about it yet because of the pandemic, she thinks there will be a resurgence that helps bring in a larger audience.
She’s grateful to be back shooting season two of “Diary of a Future President,” releasing in 2021. She does miss personal interactions, and dinners after work with her united cast, but has hope for us all in the New Year, with the promising Covid vaccine and a new administration set to start work. Meanwhile, she’ll be as busy as ever: working, advocating, and spending time with her children, her daughter and her two fur babies.
