Meghan Markle, before becoming a royal, already had an impressive list of famous friends thanks to her role in the legal drama Suits and her charity work.

She was pals with tennis star Serena Williams and Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

But one surprising friendship was with chat show host Ellen Degeneres. Their first meeting wasn’t at a fancy party or on a TV set, but at an animal rescue centre.

Ellen, not knowing who Meghan was, urged her to take home one of the cute puppies – a suggestion that would change Meghan’s life. They’ve now become good friends, and the Sussexes even adopted one of her chickens recently.

Recalling this on her blog The Tig, Meghan wrote: “When Ellen Degeneres tells you to do something, you do it. Much like if Oprah suggested a life choice for you. You’d get on that as soon as humanly possible.

“As such, this is the story of how a sweet little rescue pup, came to be my Bogart. It was two years ago in LA, and as I sat there with this ten-week-old frisky puppy on my lap, Ellen Degeneres came in and said three simple words to me that changed my life: ‘Take him home.’”

Meghan wrote that she was at the family-run shelter SPOT Rescue in West Hollywood, a small business that also provides “in-house grooming, boarding, and puppy lovin’”.

“I had been on the search for a dog, my first dog ever, to keep me company while I filmed far away in Toronto, and to become my sidekick for a very long time,” the former Suits star penned.

“Los Angeles County, my home, puts down more dogs per capita than any other city in the US, so rescuing was a no-brainer.

“And I didn’t need to go to an organisation that specialised in specific breeds for adoption because I wasn’t in the market for a purebred dog. My rationale: I’m a mutt, and I turned out just fine.

“So there I am, this five-pound ball of ombre fur squirming in my arms, when Ellen says ‘Is that your dog?’

“I’m equal parts in shock at seeing Ellen Degeneres for the first time and hoping this puppy doesn’t pee on me during this I’m-meeting-Ellen-Degeneres-for-the-first-time time.

“I explain that I’d seen him the other day with his brother, that they were both found at just 5 weeks old in an alley and taken to the pound, and that his furry counterpart was adopted yesterday. Ellen asks, ‘Did you name him?’ ‘Bogart,’ I said, ‘I think I would call him Bogart.’

“And then she looked at me with such assurance and simply said, ‘Take him home.’ And I did. I didn’t know it then, but I know it now. This animal changed my life.

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“Every day he teaches me patience, boundaries, and how to share the bed. He comes with me to set, he’s a paw shakin’ fool, and he is more protective of me than any person I’ve ever known.

“Above all that, I think he preps me for the day I will have lots of wild kids running recklessly in the mud, scraping knees, chasing frogs, and scaring me to death while looking as happy as …well, my sweet Bogart.”

Meghan then encouraged her followers to consider adopting a dog if they could afford to, both financially and time-wise.

After falling head over heels for Bogart, Meghan also adopted a beagle named Guy.