Dog Whisperer Cesar Millan Wakes in Psych Ward after Failed Suicide. Now Has New Leash on Life

In 2010, Cesar Millan went through several life changes that broke his heart. In the preceding years, he had become the world’s most famous dog trainer and the CEO of CMI, which was estimated to become a $100 million business.

It all came crashing down in the beginning of 2010, starting in February. Daddy, his pit bull and companion, who Millan called his “mentor,” died of cancer.

Shortly afterward, his wife, Ilusion, filed for divorce. They had been married for 16 years.

The beautiful thing about dogs is that when you show them honor and respect, they return the same to you a thousand fold.

Posted by Cesar Millan on Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Around the same time, Millan discovered that some bad business deals left him with almost nothing, despite his TV successes. To make things even worse, he felt his sons blamed him for the divorce and thought their lives were better without him.

To cope with it all, he stayed with his brother, attended church, and visited family more. Nothing seemed to make things better for him.

Even his dogs were becoming distant from him, Millan said, because he was unstable and they trusted him less. In May of that year, he had reached his lowest point.

While he was at his wife’s house, he took a combination of pills including Xanax in the hopes of ending his own life. The next thing he knew, he was awake in a hospital psychiatric ward.

His response was incredible. He knew that since his attempt failed, he must still have a purpose.

Enjoying the day outside with my pack. Reflecting on the past year, and what lies ahead on the horizon.

Posted by Cesar Millan on Saturday, December 31, 2016

“I better get back to work!” Millan said to himself. He went right back to training dogs, including his new sidekick, Junior, a 3-month-old pit bull.

“I couldn’t have done what I do without Daddy,” he said, “and now I can’t do it without Junior. There’s always a pit bull there supporting me.”

Millan continued clearing brush, digging roads, and planting trees on his newly purchased 43-acre land that he would use for training dogs. He also cut ties from his company because he believed they were driven purely by money, and he was driven just to help people and their dogs.

“Some people turn to cigarettes and alcohol when they have problems,” he said. “I use hard work.”

His suicide attempt was his lowest point, but he was thankful he was able to learn so much about depression and suicide. He also learned how to look for the signs and his own way to cope with depression: hard work.

“You hear this sentence, ‘What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,’” Millan said. “That became real for me. It made me closer to people.”

Cesar Millan was blessed to receive a second chance at life, and he did not take that for granted. Now he is using his life to continue helping people and their dogs, and he hopes to help others out of their depression.



202 thoughts on “Dog Whisperer Cesar Millan Wakes in Psych Ward after Failed Suicide. Now Has New Leash on Life

  1. happened in 2010 I believe. And you never know the inner struggles of a person. life may look perfect but in reality its crumbling behind the scenes. Never assume what you see on the surface is reality. Many of us know that personally.

  2. I haven’t heard of litigation on that subject, but I do know that he has zero qualifications for training and he doesn’t know what he’s doing…he was “self-taught” which means he’s made some crap up that he thinks is great, but actual experienced and legitimate trainers do not condone his methods and certainly wouldn’t encourage ANYONE to try them…I work with dogs for a living and I can assure you, there are MUCH better and more effective ways in handling and training aggressive dogs, and this just isn’t it!

  3. This man…heart of gold, was taken full advantage of by agents, the show and hollyweed. He made them MILLIONS…They took it ALL and literally left him with NOTHING. I watched the documentary that was done on his life and his success and his fall. I witnessed the words coming out of his own mouth, as to HOW he was treated, as well as the things that happened leading up to his attempt. Those “in charge of him” didn’t give one damn about him, as a human being. It was about the money he made for them.. Had he been successful at ending his life, his blood would be on their hands. He TRUSTED…when he shouldn’t have. I truly truly HOPE and PRAY…he can move forward, and begin again, realizing to place TRUST in himself and his abilities verses letting others who pretend to have good intentions, take full advantage..

  4. Steven Copeland okay and Cesar Milan is a reputable source? I don’t think so! I happen to work with dogs, and have for years and I also personally know trained experts that detest this “method” …it doesn’t work and has been proven to do more harm than good…I will cite you some actual research articles in a bit, but I don’t think that matters to you considering you find seem to think Cesar Milan has some kind of relative background in the subject (he doesn’t)

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