Alan Cumming '˜cures' Nicola Sturgeon's fear of dogs

SCOTTISH actor Alan Cumming claims to have helped cure Nicola Sturgeon's lifelong fear of dogs after introducing her to his 'very soothing' pet pooch.

Scots actor Alan Cummin. Picture: Contributed

Cumming, known for playing Eli Gold in The Good Wife, introduced Sturgeon to his dog, Lala, when she came to see his show at the Edinburgh International Festival.

Cumming, originally from Aberfeldy, Perthshire, recounted the story whilst conducting a question and answer session with students at Castlebrae Community High School in Craigmillar.

He said: “Nicola Sturgeon actually came to see my show the other night. She invited me and my band for dinner at Bute House.

“Nicola came to the show and then came to the bar for a drink, and Lala came to that. Nicola is actually terrified of dogs. I didn’t know that, it’s her Kryptonite, it’s the one chink in her armour.

“But she actually said because Lala is very lovely, and a very soothing dog, it’s the first dog then Nicola had ever felt safe with - isn’t that nice? Lala is a calming influence for world leaders.”

Cumming is known for his love of animals and has a variety of pets, including two dogs, which he often brings on holiday from his New York home, and a pig.

He regularly posts about his animals’ exploits on social media, and wrote a 400-word tribute to his pig, Esther, on Instagram, yesterday, praising her “life changing smile” and “chipped pink nail polished toes”.

Cynophobia, the fear of dogs, is thought to be the third most common animal phobia, after fears of snakes and spiders.

Responding to a Twitter user in 2015 who claimed she had an aversion to dogs, Sturgeon wrote: “A fear rather than an aversion. It’s not the dogs’ fault!”

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