Missy Elliott Previously Put Tour Plans on Hold to Care for Her Dying Dog: 'I Stayed Home a Lot' (Exclusive)

"He was 17, and he lived a long, happy life," Elliott said of her beloved dog, Hoodie

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Published on July 4, 2024 09:00AM EDT

Missy Elliott's late pet greatly influenced her decision to embark on her upcoming tour.

The hip-hop icon, 52, revealed ahead of her upcoming tour, Out of This World - The Missy Elliott Experience, that she previously postponed going on tour several times — most recently to look after her beloved dog Hoodie, who died in November.

"I stayed home a lot because I didn't want to go out on the road, and something happened," Elliott, 53, exclusively told PEOPLE. "He was 17 and lived a long, happy life."

She adds that her senior dog was "so pretty" and "lived a very long time."

After Hoodie's death, encouragement from her friend Ciara helped motivate Elliott to tour again.

"So I said, 'Okay, now I can leave the house without having to worry about anything,'" she recalls thinking after Hoodie's death. "So Ciara and my dog played a big influence in me making the decision to go out."

Elliott won't be alone on the tour. She will be accompanied by her dog, Miss Fendi Dior.

"She's six years old," the Grammy-winning artist says. 'So [she's] got her clothes ready to go out on the road with us. [It'll] be fun, fun."

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Elliott notes that her new pup loves to dress up and was "excited" to wear matching outfits with her on the tour.

"I know people sometimes be like, 'Why y'all dressing those dogs?'... But she likes clothes. She really [does] like clothes. She [sees] me pulling out the outfit [and] she's running. She knows that means," she says of Miss Fendi Dior.

The rapper's dogs have always had a sense of style, which Elliott has shown on social media. She previously shared photos of Hoodie in sleek outfits like a fur coat for winter.

Miss Fendi Dior will continue this trend as she heads off on tour with Elliott and her pet parent's close friends and longtime collaborators, Ciara and Busta Rhymes.

Elliott says she has been stepping up rehearsals in preparation for the tour's start: "It's full days, then I go home, and the work continues. But I feel good. I'm super excited."

Elliott's Out of This World - The Missy Elliott Experience tour starts on July 4.