Ian Somerhalder Introduces His ‘New Girl’ … A Cute Pooch Named Nietzsche

And they call it puppy love …

"The Vampire Diaries" star Ian Somerhalder picked up a new canine companion and, nope, it isn't a werewolf.

The 34-year-old hottie, who split with his longtime girlfriend and co-star Nina Dobrev in May, introduced his "new girl" on Instagram on Tuesday.

"My new girl. Rescued from traffic near the Vampire Diaries stages just a few hours ago-so smart, so beautiful & charming-all a man could ask for in a girl- So happy together. Her name is Nietzsche," Somerhalder said of his new pup.

Let's hope Nietzsche gets along with the Louisiana-bred actor's other pets, his three cats.

"I have three cats in my loft in Atlanta. One is a feral cat from Hawaii who grew up in the jungle, another one is a rescue from a dungeon in New York and the other one's from Canada," he told People in 2010.


The smoldering star, who clearly is a lover of all creatures great and small, regularly advocates for his furry friends through his Ian Somerhalder Foundation, which empowers young people to start environmental projects like building animal shelters. Swoon.

But back to those puppy eyes … we can't decide whose are more adorable: Ian's or Nietzsche's.

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