Each year, the Sun moves into Taurus on April 20 and stays until May 20. This means that right now it’s time to shine the celestial spotlight on the divine sign of Taurus the Bull. Happy Taurus season, Dogster readers!

If you’re a dog, Taurus season is definitely cause for celebration. This Earth sign adores nature, and is most likely to take Earth Day seriously, honoring our home planet and all its resident creatures, great and small. Earthy Taureans tend to go seriously stir crazy when their feet don’t touch terra firma — i.e., if they find themselves cooped up in a city apartment for too long. All dogs live to spend as much time as possible outside. What more perfect companion for a dog than a human with that same outdoorsy drive?

My cosmic niche is exploring how people’s star signs are revealed in their lifestyle choices. I write the “Star Style” column on astrology and lifestyle/design for Traditional Home magazine. Here on Dogster, I explore the ways people of different zodiac signs display affection for beloved dogs. Of all the signs, Taurus — the sexy second sign of the zodiac — rates first at giving back to dogs what they naturally give to humans: unconditional love. Ruled by Venus, the planet of love and beauty, Taurus also expresses steadfast devotion for dogs in super-stylish ways.

Consider Taurean James Dyson, inventor of the vacuum cleaner that doesn’t lose suction. Determined to find a solution to the copious hairs shedded by his Golden Retrievers, Dyson believed it was possible to have dogs without sacrificing a clean home. So he devised a bagless technology, which is routinely copied by his competitors — and greatly appreciated by his fellow dog lovers (especially the Taureans), many of whom simply can’t imagine life without a trusty Dyson vac. (Check out the newest Dyson, the DC39 Animal “Ball.”)

Actress Jessica Alba, who has a Pit Bull named Bowie and a Pug named Sid, hired Los Angeles decorator Kari Whitman to make her dogs’ digs pretty yet practical. Says Jessica, “When I started working with Kari, I told her my number one priority in buying a home was making it dog-friendly. [Kari] knows all about what’s safe for dogs, what makes a good environment for them.” Making pets’ comfort a top priority and doing it in style — that’s so Taurus!

Incidentally, Taurus is the sign most likely to rescue a dog and/or adopt a rescued dog. For this sign, sticking one’s neck out for a dog in need is a top priority. While shooting a movie in Puerto Rico, actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan rescued a stray mutt named Bandit.

“He just wandered out of the jungle and promptly got hit by a car,” says Morgan. “The vet was going to put him to sleep, and I said, ‘No, let’s save him.'” Morgan brought Bandit home to live with him and his main squeeze: a senior mutt named Bisou (French for “kiss”), whom he rescued years ago, when she was just a tiny pup. They now live happily in adopted-dog bliss. Again — that’s so Taurus!

Taureans are legendary for their good looks, and the bulls’ beauty radiates even more powerfully in the company of dogs. Taurean style icon Audrey Hepburn was photographed many times with dogs, and in those portraits, the screen goddess appears so relaxed and content that her sweet, natural, irresistible beauty is even more breathtaking.

Rare is the Taurus who doesn’t have a dog. Even rarer is the Taurus who doesn’t find a way to spend quality time with his best four-footed friend, no matter how demanding his professional obligations may be. A Chow Chow named Jo-Fi was a fixture at the medical office of his owner, Sigmund Freud, quietly attending all of the famous doctor’s therapy sessions. The love of Queen Elizabeth II for her Corgis is widely known. It was kindled in childhood, when her parents had a pair of Pembrokes named Dookie and Jane. For her 18th birthday in 1944, King George presented Princess Elizabeth with a Corgi named Susan, who died in 1959.

Not surprisingly for an Earth sign, Taurus loves to garden. Fittingly, this green-thumb sign is drawn to the type of dog that also loves aerobically digging around in the dirt: the terrier, aka “earth dog.” Any type of terrier will tantalize a Taurus, from the tiniest Yorkie to the most muscular Pit Bull. Taurean author and lifestyle guru Carolyne Roehm cultivates beautiful spaces indoors and out, and her canine companion of choice is the Wheaten Terrier. Painter Heather LaHaise, whose specialty is portraits of dogs, adores the American Pit Bull Terrier.

Besides dogs and design, Taureans’ other weakness is chocolate (preferably the organic, sustainable kind). However, the theobromine in chocolate is deadly to dogs if ingested. Happily, earthy, practical Taurus dog lovers are extra-careful about storing their deep, dark, guilty pleasure high out of reach of prying paws (or safely stowed in the fridge). Crisis averted!

If Taurus is the sign you seek to love, know that the signs most cosmically compatible with the bull are Cancer, Capricorn, Virgo, and Pisces. And don’t forget to bring chocolate on your first date! Your Taurus will probably use it to bake you a mouthwatering cake.

Dogster Taureans and friends or lovers of Dogster Taureans, we’d like to hear from you, so please share your thoughts in the comments!