Nikki DeLoach Has a Pawsome Costar in Hallmark’s ‘Love to the Rescue’

On Saturday, March 23, Nikki DeLoach finds herself sharing custody of a precocious pooch in the Hallmark Channel original film, Love to the Rescue.

DeLoach plays Katie, a single mom who has promised her daughter that she can adopt an adorable dog named Bruce. Unfortunately, Eric (Michael Rady), a single dad, has also promised his son that they’ll adopt Bruce.

When the families agree to share canine custody for a month to determine who’s the best fit for Bruce, Katie finds herself falling in love and realizes that the dog might be rescuing these families instead of vice versa.

“Oh, my gosh, I can’t wait for you to see this film,” gushes DeLoach. “It is so fun! I play an artist and a very free spirit, who’s really funny and not structured at all. And then Michael’s character is obviously the complete opposite.”

The film supports Hallmark’s company-wide pet initiative Adoption Ever After, which encourages pet adoption over the purchasing of pets.

There’s a W.C. Fields quote that states, “Never work with children or animals,” because they lack attention and they steal every scene they’re in. When DeLoach and Rady first met their on-set pet, the actress reveals that they were absolutely smitten and knew who the real star was.

“Zip is his real name,” she says, “but in the film, his character’s name is Bruce.”

She also reveals, “Michael Rady joked to me, ‘Nikki, it doesn’t matter actually what we do in this movie. No one is going to care. They’re all going to be looking at this adorable dog!’”

She laughs, “I mean, he is so cute! So cute, that I can’t even tell you! So people are gonna be in love with the dog. But also, the dog didn’t want to listen to anything that Michael or I had to say!”

DeLoach reveals that while Zip excelled in the looks department, his lack of acting experience led to hilarious on-set antics.

“As we would be leaving the scene going left, Zip would be leaving the scene wanting to go right. We would be like, ‘Sit,’ and he would just stare at us. And he didn’t want to do anything that Michael and I said!”

But the dog’s silly stubbornness is perfect for the lighthearted romantic comedy, since the focus of the film isn’t on finding the world’s most perfect dog, it’s about how a furry friend can help complete a family.

“These are two people, who have different philosophies and theories on what it means to raise a dog, or raise children, can actually somehow come together and work together to a great and loving environment,” DeLoach says. “If you go where the love is, you’re never gonna go wrong.”

The actress is currently shooting the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie, Love Takes Flight, which premieres April 27 and also stars Jeff Hephner and Barbara Niven. DeLoach also reveals that she’s hoping to executive produce a new film for Hallmark and can’t wait to share more info about it with her fans.

Love to the Rescue, Saturday, March 23, 8/7c, Hallmark Channel