"It’s great having four big, frisky German shepherds around"- When Simone Biles opened up on heartwarming moments with her first pet dog

Simone Biles once opened up about the heartwarming moments she shared with her dogs when she was young. She shared a few German Shepherds with her sister Adria, among which Maggie was their first pet dog. Biles and Adria got their first dog after the gymnast won the bet against her father.

In her autobiography Courage to Soar: A Body in Motion, A Life in Balance, published in 2016, Biles reflected on the fun moments she spent with her dogs on weekends as a child. She described the joy she felt coming home after the church visits as she and Adria would play with the four German Shepherds - Maggie, and her puppies Lily, Atlas, and Bella.

"When we come home, Adria and I will change into shorts and race around the house with our four German shepherds, whose doggie beds are lined up in the hallway right outside my bedroom door. There’s Maggie, the dog we got after my level nine Westerns, and then there are her puppies Lily, Atlas, and Bella, who were bred at the same farm where we found Maggie."

She added:

"It’s great having four big, frisky German shepherds around; we’ve come such a long way since the days when Adria and I had to beg our dad for just one dog."

Simone Biles once opened up on the bet she placed with her father to get her first dog

Simone Biles at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Gymnastics Trials. (Photo by Getty Images)

Simone Biles once revealed the bet her father placed when the gymnast and her younger sister Adria were insistent on getting a pet dog. After consistently denying their demand, Biles' father, Ronald, agreed to get the sisters their first pet dog but only if the gymnast earned a spot for the Western gymnastics competition.

Biles wrote in her autobiography:

“'Okay, Simone,' he said finally. 'I’ll tell you what. You qualify for Westerns this year, and you’ll get your dog'," Biles wrote. “'Are you serious?' I said, jumping out of my chair. I wasn’t sure I was hearing him right. 'You score high enough at regionals, 'he said, turning back to his paperwork, 'I’ll take you there to pick out a dog myself.'”

Biles further added that the bet played a huge role in motivating her to perform at the competition, where she secured top place in the floor event and second in the all-around events. Simone Biles now shares two pet dogs with her husband - Lilo, whom she adopted in 2017 after Maggie passed away, and Rambo in 2020.