See shirtless Zac Efron affectionately cuddling a dog

If you are looking for a cure for unwanted Sunday Scaries, look no further Zac Efron and his puppy companion.

Efron, 36, took to his Instagram Stories on Sunday, January 14, to share his adventures with a furry friend. The Iron claw star stood shirtless in a kitchen as a friend held a large dog to Efron's face. Efron pursed his lips in admiration, seemingly about to give the dog a kiss.

Efron is a big animal lover and adopted his first dog, named Puppy, in April 2012. Puppy, an Australian shepherd, died in 2016. Efron eventually joined his family and rescued the dogs Chapelle, Dreamer and Maca. Efron also enjoys helping other pups in need.

“I saved a dog. He was a puppy and he got away,” he previously revealed during an April 2016 interview with BuzzFeed. “I just ran into the yard to save him, like in the street, in my underwear – I just woke up – and grabbed him and said, 'No, don't run away.' And I looked up and my neighbor and his whole family said, 'Good morning!' I was like, 'Hey! This is awkward. You have many children. ''

While Efron was undoubtedly in great shape when he rescued the stray dog ​​in 2016, he's even more so now. Training as a former professional wrestler Kevin von Erich in 2023 The Iron Claw required an intense physical transformation.

“It was shocking at every point of the transformation,” Efron recalled Entertainment tonight in November 2023. “I remember Harris [Dickinson, my costar] and I was out of hair and makeup and it was the first time we had to wear the full package, and we were both like, 'What the hell are we doing here, man? How did we get into this?'”

According to Efron, he was inspired to rebuild by Von Erich, now 66, himself.

“The physicality he brought to the ring every day was truly unique. It changed wrestling,” Efron added at the time. “I knew this was going to be the hardest part [thing] for me to master and be right. So I put everything I had into it.”

Efron played the lead role The Iron Claw with Dickinson, 27, and Jeremy Allen Whiteboth of whom also got into great shape to play professional wrestlers.

“It was wild. One of the cool things in the movie is that Jeremy… does these overhead push-ups from the ground. That's hard to do,” Efron joked about White, 32, during a December 2023 appearance on Barstool Sports' KFC Radio. “I can't get many reps in that [and] I was impressed, dude. You blew out 10 to 15 in one take – and then again when you were doing those barrels.