In the inaugural episode of “My Pet Tale,” where celebrities share how their pets have shaped their lives and become lovable, important members of the family, Ashley Tisdale describes her special bond with Maui, her Maltipoo.

The actress and singer often brings Maui wherever life takes her. Maui is a veteran on-set, where she’s always calm, cool and collected.

“A director once said that she knows what ‘cut’ means, and she actually does, which is crazy,” Tisdale told TODAY.

However, Maui does get nervous sometimes. She’s battled anxiety as she’s gotten older and Tisdale says different remedies haven’t worked to calm her down. Tisdale has partnered with Happy Hempies, a nutritional supplement for dogs, because she says it is what helps Maui stay at ease.

“Happy Hempies is just so amazing, because it’s like giving her a treat, which also kind of takes her out of the moment of what she’s, like, freaking out about,” she said. “It just not only calms her, but it calms me, knowing that I have it for her.”

Tisdale says Maui is her “soul mate” and that’s why she wants her to remain happy and healthy. “She’s just been there for me, through the good times, the hard times. Definitely through my 20s, she helped get me through it, with all those, you know, lovely exes and dating.”

And Maui is, of course, the best listener. “She’s just like the best thing to talk to, and she doesn’t cut you off, so it’s really nice.”

She says Maui has made her life so much better. “I always wanted a dog since I was young, and I always was working from a young age, so I just really didn’t have time to have a dog. And so, she just made all my dog dreams come true.”

Source: Today

In the interview Ashley showed a few private photos of Maui (and also herself and Maui). A brand new/old rare photo of both can be found in the gallery. Also a few other new/old photos of Maui were added.