Haute Spot

Selecting her most special space at her 20- acre property in Water Mill is easy for Jill
Rappaport. Even though she has plenty of places to choose from at her “The Last Buck Ranch,”
including a giant 7,000-square-foot log cabin-style home that has graced the cover of Architectural Digest, a smaller camp-style replica version guest house, two bespoke barns with corresponding accessory structures, and woodlands, pastures and paddocks galore, plus her very own pond. But there’s only one spot—the animal corner—that truly stands out for the award-winning animal advocate, bestselling author, television personality and veteran “Today” show correspondent.

Located a few hundred yards from her Southwesternmeets- Adirondack-style guesthouse, where she
prefers to spend her time rather than the sprawling mansion made of timber, is a two-story red-and-white country-style barn that Ms. Rappaport personally sketched out, designed and outfitted.
That’s the spot that’s home to the real estate that holds the most sway over her heart—not because of its beauty or style, of which it boasts plenty, but rather because it’s the place where her five rescue
dogs and two of her six rescue horses like to get together for their daily four-legged meet and greets.

The animal lover and shelter adoption advocate says she likes to give her rescued pets the opportunity to get out of the house and enjoy the great outdoors as often as possible. And when they do head outside, it’s inevitable that their first stop is the animal corner. That’s where her “gentle giant” 110-pound bulldog Petey; dachshunds Rubie and Oscar Mayer; a perky Havanese named CJ; and Stanley, a 6-foot-tall standard poodle who fancies himself a lap dog, bound over to say hello to their equine brothers and sisters. Stanley, in particular, “loves to jump up and smell the horses,” reports the Puppy Bowl “Pup Close and Personal” segment host for Animal Planet and creator of pet playthings and accessories, such as the Shelter Shake dog toy, which is frequently featured on QVC. “That’s my gathering place of all my fur angels and rescue animals,” she says of the visiting that occurs between her beloved pooches and Happy the horse and her stable mate Madison. “I call it my animal gravitation corner because that’s where the whole menagerie ends up whenever they can.”

Surrounded by acres of bucolic beauty and wooded land, and next door to a pasture and split-rail enclosed riding ring, the custom barn is “one of the prettiest I’ve ever seen,” says Ms. Rappaport. “It’s got antique beams, a magnificent tack room and a two-story bath stall. It looks like a country farm house.”

Walking along the picturesque path from her rustic home to the horses’ house, she adds, “It’s important to me that the horses and the dogs live as well as we do. If it’s not good enough for my animals, it’s not good enough for me,” she says. “Take last night, they had fresh salmon. I had Fritos,” she laughs.

As if on cue, Happy the horse (whose demeanor matches her name) saunters over to one of the open double barn windows of her expansive stall to greet her savior, and Rubie, CJ and Stanley. The gentle beast tilts her beautiful brown head down in order to receive Stanley’s affectionate attentions, then she gives CJ a kiss on top of the head, with a little boost up from Ms. Rappaport, and then takes a few moments to look after Rubie, who is frenetically prancing around next to the stall door. The adored equine then accepts a few pets from the humans as she sniffs the air, and our pockets, in search of treats.

“Look at how wonderfully they get along! I’m so glad that they all really are friends,” exclaims the animal lover, with a smile lighting up her face. “Now you can see for
yourself why this is my very favorite place.”