Backstreet Boy AJ McLean may seen tough, but his dogs know otherwise
To those who don't know the Backstreet Boys' AJ McLean personally, the
sight of the cigarette-smoking, scruffy, heavily tattooed, "baddest" of
the boy banders as a presenter at the wholesome Genesis Awards
(honoring animals and the people who work with them), seemed like a mismatch.
But last year, AJ, a devout animal lover, jumped at the chance to
introduce the touching film tribute to 9/11 search and rescue dogs.
Not too long ago, Alexander James (aka AJ) McLean, 25, needed a little
rescuing. After becoming the focus of an intervention by his bandmates,
he checked himself into rehab to conquer alcohol abuse, depression and
anxiety. Today he is clean and sober and living in West Palm Beach,
Fla., enjoying a break from touring, and like his bandmates, busy at work
on solo material. He is also loving being a father to, as he says, his
three "children" - bulldogs Tank, Daisy and Serenity, who is named
"after the prayer I would say every day [in recovery]," he says.
Later this year AJ will lend his angelic singing voice to "The Big
Fixx's Rock 'n Hole" concert and golf tournament to help raise money for
animal rescue efforts. He's already helped Harle, a Chihuahua-pug mix
from a shelter that didn't have the funding to house the dog for an
extended perios.
"People think I'm a bad ass, but I'm not," AJ confesses. "I play with
my puppies, and I"m a huge animal lover - just a bug sap."
Then there's a huge, half page picture of him kissing Tank with the
caption "AJ's bulldog, Tank, loves the water so much the singer recently
bought him his own kiddie pool."
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