Amanda Seyfried believes pets give their owners “purpose”.

The 38-year-old actress’ family – children Nina, seven, and four-year-old son Thomas, who she has with her actor husband Thomas Sadoski – include her rescue dog Finn.

She told People how she thinks the pooch enhances their lives: “(Pets give us) purpose. No matter what we say, we can’t deny the fact that we need purpose, and to have that responsibility of taking care of animals, who don’t have a voice and can’t really do much for themselves, it gives you so much more than we could ever give them, really.

“I don’t know what my twenties would’ve looked like without Finn. I really don’t know.”

“I don’t know how I would've navigated Hollywood. I mean, I stayed out of a lot of trouble, I think, because I had that guy to come home to.”

Amanda adopted her 15-year-old Australian shepherd while working on the set of the HBO series ‘Big Love’.

She told People in 2019 about getting the dog: “As soon as he was mine, like 24 hours after I got him, I realised something about me needed him.

“He completely changed my life and helped me find my solitude and my independence.

“I took him home thinking I was going to, like, find a home for him and have him for a couple of weeks, but I fell in love with him right away.

“I was just like, ‘I’m going to keep him safe,’ and then he just ended up keeping me safe.

“I had struggled with a lot of anxiety and I have OCD, and my twenties were just hard in general – like, anybody’s twenties are hard – so I think he grounded me in a way that nothing else could have.”

Amanda added she cannot believe her pet is now 15, adding: “It’s insane. I feel so lucky that he’s still alive and he’s thriving.

“Keep knocking on wood.”